Microfinance institutions and the provision of mobile financial services: First empirical evidence

This study empirically investigates the factors driving the provision of mobile financial services (MFS) by microfinance institutions (MFIs). Using a worldwide data set on 999 MFIs and employing a probit regression, we find a positive relationship between the financial expenses of an institution and MFS adoption. Our results also show that the share of deposits is positively related to the probability of offering MFS. Moreover, larger institutions and MFIs of the bank type are more likely to adopt mobile technology in providing financial services. Furthermore, the depth of outreach is weakly positively related to the provision of MFS, suggesting that the social mission of MFIs is not impaired by the provision of MFS