Fourteenth International Conference on Interdisciplinary Social Sciences

Abstract

M-banking or mobile-banking is enabling the destitute of the world to do banking from anywhere and at any time, especially for those without a bank account. Unlike in the past when the impoverished stashed their hard-earned money in the house unsafely, they can now have a pseudo bank account. With their mobile phones, they can check account balance, pay remotely for goods and services, deposit funds into the account, and transfer funds from one account to another account. Mobile banking is empowering the poor with independence and self-reliance, and at the same time enabling them to manage their finances without having an account in an intimidating affluent bank located far away in the suburbs or major cities. The brick-and-mortar banks can be intimidating to the disenfranchised because the bank employees may scorn them for their poverty and lack of education and sophistication. The focus of this study is to research the M-PESA mobile banking service available to the poor in Kenya, what it is, how it works - and then analyze if it is actually helping the poor.