Share:


Impact of mobile phones and internet use on financial inclusion: empirical evidence from the EU post-communist countries

    Yilmaz Bayar   Affiliation
    ; Marius Dan Gavriletea   Affiliation
    ; Dragoş Păun Affiliation

Abstract

Poverty alleviation has become one of the biggest challenges for many countries and access to financial services is considered to be a key driver of development and economic growth. Finding solutions that can break down barriers that poor people are facing to access formal financial services has become a major concern for researchers, governments, financial institutions. Financial services must reinvent themselves and the adoption of new technology is a crucial key to overhaul their operations and to find innovative solutions to manage customer expectations. The escalation in access and penetration level of mobile phones and the Internet can improve financial inclusion by facilitating easy access to financial services, by providing secure transaction platforms, by reducing transaction costs, by providing a competitive business framework.


There has been relatively limited research on the impact of Internet and mobile phones use on financial inclusion, therefore our main purpose was to investigate this linkage in a sample of 11 post-communist countries of the European Union from 1996–2017 using panel cointegration and causality analyses. Firstly, we investigated whether mobile cellular phone subscriptions and the rate of Internet usage affect financial institutions’ access; secondly, we analysed the impact of these variables on financial market access. Results indicate that mobile cellular phone subscriptions positively affect both financial institution access in countries like Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Slovenia and financial market access in Bulgaria, Croatia, and Hungary. Also, a negative relationship between mobile cellular phone subscriptions and financial institution access was noticed in the Czech Republic and regarding financial market access in the Czech Republic and Poland. Our findings also indicate both positive and negative relationships between Internet usage rates and financial institutions and financial markets access. By increasing Internet usage we can improve access to financial institutions in Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland and we can increase financial markets access in Latvia and Slovenia.


First published online 13 April 2021

Keyword : financial inclusion, mobile phones and Internet use, panel cointegration and causality analyses

How to Cite
Bayar, Y., Gavriletea, M. D., & Păun, D. (2021). Impact of mobile phones and internet use on financial inclusion: empirical evidence from the EU post-communist countries. Technological and Economic Development of Economy, 27(3), 722-741. https://doi.org/10.3846/tede.2021.14508
Published in Issue
May 25, 2021
Abstract Views
3084
PDF Downloads
2805
Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

References

Akileng, G., Lawino, G. M., & Nzibonera, E. (2018). Evaluation of determinants of financial inclusion in Uganda. Journal of Applied Finance & Banking, 8(4), 47–66.

Alshubiri, F., Jamil, S. A., & Elheddad, M. (2019). The impact of ICT on financial development: Empirical evidence from the Gulf Cooperation Council countries. Applications of Electronic Finance and Global Technology Readiness. International Journal of Engineering Business Management, 11, 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1177/1847979019870670

Alt, R., Beck, R., & Smits, M. T. (2018). FinTech and the transformation of the financial industry. Electronic Markets, 28(3), 235–243. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12525-018-0310-9

Aminuzzaman, S., Baldersheim, H., & Jamil, I. (2003). Talking back! Empowerment and mobile phones in rural Bangladesh: A study of the village phone scheme of Grameen Bank. Contemporary South Asia, 12(3), 327–348. https://doi.org/10.1080/0958493032000175879

Ammar, A., & Ahmed, E. M. (2016). Factors influencing Sudanese microfinance intention to adopt mobile banking. Cogent Business & Management, 3(1), 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2016.1154257

Anarfo, E. B., Abor, J. Y., Osei, K. A., & Gyeke-Dako, A. (2019). Financial inclusion and financial sector development in Sub-Saharan Africa: A panel VAR approach. International Journal of Managerial Finance, 15(4), 444–463. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJMF-07-2018-0205

Andrianaivo, M., & Kpodar, K. (2012). Mobile phones, financial inclusion, and growth. Review of Economics and Institutions, 3(2), 1–30. https://doi.org/10.5202/rei.v3i2.75

Arvidsson, N. (2014). Consumer attitudes on mobile payment services – results from a proof of concept test. International Journal of Bank Marketing, 32(2), 150–170. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJBM-05-2013-0048

Asongu, S. A. (2013). How has mobile phone penetration stimulated financial development in Africa. Journal of African Business, 14(1), 7–18. https://doi.org/10.1080/15228916.2013.765309

Asongu, S. A. (2015). The impact of mobile phone penetration on African inequality. International Journal of Social Economics, 42(8), 706–716. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSE-11-2012-0228

Asongu, S. A., & Moulin, B. (2016). The role of ICT in reducing information asymmetry for financial access. Research in International Business and Finance, 38, 202–213. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ribaf.2016.04.011

Asongu, S. A., & Nwachukwu, J. C. (2019). ICT, financial sector development and financial access. Journal of the Knowledge Economy, 10, 465–490. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13132-017-0477-x

Asongu, S. A., & Odhiambo, N. M. (2017). Mobile banking usage, quality of growth, inequality and poverty in developing countries. Information Development, 35(2), 303–318. https://doi.org/10.1177/0266666917744006

Asongu, S. A., Nwachuwku, J. C., & Aziz, A. (2018). Determinants of mobile phone penetration: Panel threshold evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa. Journal of Global Information Technology Management, 21(2), 81–110. https://doi.org/10.1080/1097198X.2018.1462069

Barboni, G., Cassar, A., & Demont, T. (2017). Financial exclusion in developed countries: A field experiment among migrants and low-income people in Italy. Journal of Behavioral Economics for Policy, 1(2), 39–49.

Bhuvana, M., Vasantha, S., & Bharath, R. (2016). Information and Communication Technology (ICT) – A drive for financial inclusion. Journal of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, 9(4), 1885–1889. www.jchps.com

Bisht, S. S., & Mishra, V. (2016). ICT-driven financial inclusion initiatives for urban poor in a developing economy: Implications for public policy. Behaviour & Information Technology, 35(10), 817–832. https://doi.org/10.1080/0144929X.2016.1183711

Bold, C., Porteous, D., & Rotman, S. (2012). Social cash transfers and financial inclusion: Evidence from four countries. (Report No. 77, pp. 1–28). Consultative Group to Assist the Poor. https://www.cgap.org/sites/default/files/Focus-Note-Social-Cash-Transfers-and-Financial-Inclusion-Evidence-from-Four-Countries-Feb-2012.pdf

Bongomin, G. O. C., Ntayi, J. M., Munene, J. C., & Malinga, C. A. (2018). Mobile money and financial inclusion in Sub-Saharan Africa: The moderating role of social networks. Journal of African Business, 18(4), 361–384. https://doi.org/10.1080/15228916.2017.1416214

Bose, B. K., Patra, A., Dash, S. R., & Bhujabal, B. (2018). Financial inclusion and economic growth: A critical appraisal for evidence-based policy (EBP). International Journal of Management, Technology and Engineering, 8(12), 2021–2030.

Breusch, T., & Pagan, A. (1980). The Lagrange multiplier test and its applications to model specification in econometrics. The Review of Economic Studies, 47(1), 239–253. https://doi.org/10.2307/2297111

Caporale, G. M., Rault, C., Sova, A. D., & Sova, R. (2015). Financial development and economic growth: Evidence from 10 New European Union Members. International Journal of Finance & Economics, 20(1), 48–60. https://doi.org/10.1002/ijfe.1498

Center for Financial Inclusion. (2018). New Global Findex: 69 percent of global population is banked. https://www.centerforfinancialinclusion.org/new-global-findex-sixty-nine-percent-of-global-population-is-banked

Chatterjee, A., & Anand, N. (2017). Financial inclusion, information and communication technology diffusion and economic growth: A panel data analysis (Working Paper 165/2017). http://www.mse.ac.in/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/WP-165-1.pdf

Chinoda, T., & Kwenda, F. (2019). Do mobile phones, economic growth, bank competition and stability matter for financial inclusion in Africa? Cogent Economics & Finance, 7(1), 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1080/23322039.2019.1622180

Dittus, P., & Klein, M. U. (2011). On harnessing the potential of financial inclusion (BIS Working Papers No 347). Basel. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1859412

Dumitrescu, E., & Hurlin, C. (2012). Testing for Granger non-causality in heterogeneous panels. Economic Modelling, 29(4), 1450–1460. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econmod.2012.02.014

Edo, S., Okodua, H., & Odebiyi, J. (2019). Internet adoption and financial development in Sub‐Saharan Africa: Evidence from Nigeria and Kenya. African Development Review, 31(1), 144–160. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8268.12370

Farhadi, M., Ismail, R., & Fooladi, M. (2012). Information and communication technology use and economic growth. PloS One, 7(11), e48903. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0048903

Gosavi, A. (2018). Can mobile money help firms mitigate the problem of access to finance in Eastern sub-Saharan Africa. Journal of African Business, 19(3), 343–360. https://doi.org/10.1080/15228916.2017.1396791

Grohmann, A., Klühs, T., & Menkhoff, L. (2018). Does financial literacy improve financial inclusion? Cross country evidence. World Development, 111, 84–96. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2018.06.020

Haupert, V., Maier, D., & Müller, T. (2017). Paying the price for disruption: How a FinTech allowed account takeover. In Proceedings of the 1st Reversing and Offensive-oriented Trends Symposium. https://doi.org/10.1145/3150376.3150383

House of Lords. (2017). Tackling financial exclusion: A country that works for everyone? (Report of Session 2016–17). Select Committee on Financial Exclusion. https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld201617/ldselect/ldfinexcl/132/132.pdf

Hussaini, U., & Chibuzo, I. (2018). The effects of financial inclusion on poverty reduction: The moderating effects of microfinance. International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research and Development, 5(12), 188–198.

Irving Fisher Committee. (2015). Proceedings of the Workshop on “Financial Inclusion Indicators”, cohosted by the Bank Negara Malaysia, Sasana Kijang, Kuala Lumpur, 5–6 November 2012. IFC Bulletins No. 38, Bank for International Settlements.

Kang, H. (2018). Advancing financial deepening and inclusion. In L. E. Breuer, J. Guajardo, & T. Kinda (Eds.), Realizing Indonesia’s economic potential (pp. 229–248). International Monetary Fund. https://www.elibrary.imf.org/doc/IMF071/24870-9781484337141/24870-9781484337141/Other_formats/Source_PDF/24870-9781484355954.pdf

Kirui, O. K., Okello, J. J., Nyikal, R. A., & Njiraini, G. W. (2013). Impact of mobile phone-based money transfer services in agriculture: evidence from Kenya. Quaterly Journal of International Agriculture, 52(2), 141–162.

Klapper, L., El-Zoghbi, M., & Hess, J. (2016). Achieving the sustainable development goals: The role of financial inclusion. CGAP. https://www.cgap.org/sites/default/files/Working-Paper-Achieving-Sustainable-Development-Goals-Apr-2016_0.pdf

Kopala, M. R. (2010). Mobile banking: A tool of financial inclusion for India. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1674328

Kulesz, O. (2016). The impact of digital technologies on the diversity of cultural expressions in Spain and Hispanic America. UNESCO, Paris. https://en.unesco.org/creativity/sites/creativity/files/sessions/10igc_inf4_the_impact_of_digital_technologies_octavio_kulesz_en.pdf

Lapukeni, A. F. (2015). Financial inclusion and the impact of ICT: An overview. American Journal of Economics, 5(5), 495–500.

Lenka, S. K., & Barik, R. (2018). Has expansion of mobile phone and Internet use spurred financial inclusion in the SAARC countries? Financial Innovation, 4(1), 5. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40854-018-0089-x

Lundqvist, M., & Erlandsson, F. (2014). The diffusion of mobile phones and its impact on financial inclusion and economic growth in Africa [Master Thesis]. Department of Economics, School of Economics and Management, Lund University.

Majeed, M. T. (2017). Quality of institutions and inclusive financial development in the Muslim World. Financial inclusion and poverty alleviation. In M. Zulkhibri & A. G. Ismail (Eds.), Financial inclusion and poverty alleviation. Perspectives from Islamic institutions and instruments (pp. 3–40). Palgrave Studies in Islamic Banking, Finance, and Economics. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-69799-4_1

Maune, A., Matanda, E., & Mundonde, J. (2020). Does financial inclusion cause economic growth in Zimbabwe? An empirical investigation. Acta Universitatis Danubius. Œconomica, 16(1), 195–215.

Meskoub, M. (2018). Financial services in the EU: Is there a problem of financial exclusion? (ISS Working Papers – General Series 638). International Institute of Social Studies of Erasmus University Rotterdam (ISS), The Hague.

Mtambalika, A., Manda, T. D., Gombachika, H., & Kunyenje, G. (2016). Branchless banking in rural Malawi: Potential customers’ perspective on bank-led mobile banking. In P. Cunningham & M. Cunningham (Eds.), 2016 IST-Africa Week Conference Proceedings (pp. 1–11). https://doi.org/10.1109/ISTAFRICA.2016.7530701

Mushtaq, R., & Bruneau, C. (2019). Microfinance, financial inclusion and ICT: Implications for poverty and inequality. Technology in Society, 59, 101154. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techsoc.2019.101154

Mwangi, J. (2017). Mobile money. In The Report: Kenia 2017.

Naikoo, A. A., Thakur, S. S., Guroo, T. A., & Lone, A. A. (2018). Development of society under the modern technology – A review. Scholedge International Journal of Business Policy and Governance, 5(1), 1–8. https://doi.org/10.19085/journal.sijbpg050101

Omar, M. A., & Inaba, K. (2020). Does financial inclusion reduce poverty and income inequality in developing countries? A panel data analysis. Economic Structures, 9, 37. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40008-020-00214-4

Pesaran, M. H. (2006). Estimation and inference in large heterogeneous panels with a multi factor error structure. Econometrica, 74(4), 967–1012. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0262.2006.00692.x

Pesaran, M. H. (2007). A simple panel unit root test in the presence of cross-section dependence. Journal of Applied Econometrics, 22(2), 265–312. https://doi.org/10.1002/jae.951

Pesaran, M. H., & Yamagata, T. (2008). Testing slope homogeneity in large panels. Journal of Econometrics, 142(1), 50–93. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeconom.2007.05.010

Pesaran, M. (2004). General diagnostic tests for Cross section dependence in panels (IZA Discussion Paper, 1240).

Pesaran, M. H., Ullah, A., & Yamagata, T. (2008). A bias-adjusted LM test of error cross-section independence. Econometrics Journal, 11(1), 105–127. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1368-423X.2007.00227.x

Rasheed, B., Law, S. H., Chin, L., & Habibullah, M. S. (2016). The role of financial inclusion in financial development: International evidence. Abasyn University Journal of Social Sciences, 9, 330–348.

Romaniuk, P., & Szromek, A. R. (2016). The evolution of the health system outcomes in Central and Eastern Europe and their association with social, economic and political factors: An analysis of 25 years of transition. BMC Health Services Research, 16, 95. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-016-1344-3

Sahay, R., Čihák, M., N’Diaye, P., Barajas, A., Mitra, S., Kyobe, A., Mooi, Y., & Yousefi, S. R. (2015). Financial inclusion: Can it meet multiple macroeconomic goals? (IMF Staff Discussion Notes, No. 15/17). International Monetary Fund. https://doi.org/10.5089/9781513585154.006

Scott, S. (2014). ICTs for financial services in Africa. World Bank. https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/19019

Seng, K. (2017). Considering the effects of mobile phones on financial inclusion in Cambodia (PRA Paper 82225). University Library of Munich, Germany.

Sethi, D., & Acharya, D. (2018). Financial inclusion and economic growth linkage: Some cross country evidence. Journal of Financial Economic Policy, 10(3), 369–385. https://doi.org/10.1108/JFEP-11-2016-0073

Sharma, D. (2016). Nexus between financial inclusion and economic growth: Evidence from the emerging Indian economy. Journal of Financial Economic Policy, 8(1), 13–36. https://doi.org/10.1108/JFEP-01-2015-0004

Siddik, N. A., Ahsan, T., & Kabiraj, S. (2019). Does financial permeation promote economic growth? Some econometric evidence from Asian countries. SAGE Open, 9(3), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244019865811

Soumaré, I., Tchana Tchana, F., & Kengne, T. M. (2016). Analysis of the determinants of financial inclusion in Central and West Africa. Transnational Corporations Review, 8(4), 231–249. https://doi.org/10.1080/19186444.2016.1265763

Sultana, B., & Khan, M. M. R. (2016). Are mobile financial services promoting financial inclusion in Bangladesh? An assessment study (Working paper series: WP No 1623). Research Department, Bangladesh Bank.

Svirydzenka, K. (2016). Introducing a new broad-based index of financial development (IMF Working Paper, WP/16/5). International Monetary Fund. https://doi.org/10.5089/9781513583709.001

Tchamyou, V. S., Asongu, S. A., & Odhiambo, N. M. (2019b). The role of ICT in modulating the effect of education and lifelong learning on income inequality and economic growth in Africa. African Development Review, 31(3), 261–274. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8268.12388

Tchamyou, V. S., Erreygers, G., & Cassimon, D. (2019a). Inequality, ICT and financial access in Africa. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 139, 169–184. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2018.11.004

Teal, F., & Eberhardt, M. (2010). Productivity analysis in global manufacturing production (Economics Series Working Papers 515). University of Oxford, Department of Economics. https://ideas.repec.org/p/oxf/wpaper/515.html

Thulani, M., Chitakunye, P., & Chummun B. Z. (2014). Mobile money as a strategy for financial inclusion in rural communities. Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 5(25), 216–224.

Toader, E., Firtescu, B. N., Roman, A., & Anton, S. G. (2018). Impact of information and communication technology infrastructure on economic growth: An empirical assessment for the EU countries. Sustainability, 10(10), 3750. https://doi.org/10.3390/su10103750

Trivelli, C. (2013). Social inclusion cannot be achieved without financial inclusion. https://www.cgap.org/blog/social-inclusion-cannot-be-achieved-without-financial-inclusion

Uddin, A., Chowdhury, M. A. F., & Islam, M. N. (2017). Determinants of financial inclusion in Bangladesh: Dynamic Gmm & quantile regression approach. The Journal of Developing Areas, 51(2), 221–237. https://doi.org/10.1353/jda.2017.0041

United Nations Capital Development Fund. (2020). Financial Inclusion and the SDGs. https://www.uncdf.org/financial-inclusion-and-the-sdgs

Vadavadagi, P. K., & Allagi, R. G. (2014). Financial inclusion through mobile banking a case of India. EPRA International Journal of Economic and Business Review, 2(10), 108–114.

Van der Wansem, S. (2013). Financial inclusion: Banking on mobile phones? [Master’s dissertation]. Wageningen University, The Netherlands. http://edepot.wur.nl/317936

Washington, E. (2006) The impact of banking and fringe banking regulation on the number of unbanked Americans. Journal of Human Resources, XLI, 106–137. https://doi.org/10.3368/jhr.XLI.1.106

Westerlund, J., & Edgerton, D. L. (2008). A simple test for cointegration in dependent panels with structural breaks. Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, 70(5), 665–704. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0084.2008.00513.x

World Bank. (2015). How to measure financial inclusion. https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/financialinclusion/brief/how-to-measure-financial-inclusion

World Bank. (2017). Global Findex database 2017. https://globalfindex.worldbank.org/

World Bank. (2018). Financial inclusion. https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/financialinclusion/overview

World Bank. (2019a). Mobile cellular subscriptions (per 100 people). https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/IT.CEL.SETS.P2

World Bank. (2019b). Individuals using the Internet (% of population). https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/it.NET.user.ZS

World Savings and Retail Banking Institute. (2016). Close to 40 million EU citizens outside banking mainstream. https://www.wsbi-esbg.org/press/latest-news/Pages/Close-to-40-million-EU-citizens-outside-banking-mainstream.aspx