A Mobile Money Solution for Illiterate Users

Existing mobile money platforms have text based interfaces and target literate people. Illiterate people, without the assistance of literate individuals, cannot use such platforms. Applying user-centered requirements gathered in an Ethiopian context, this paper presents the design and development of a mobile money solution that targets illiterate people. Particular emphasis is given to how illiterate users deal with cash money in their everyday life and how such practices can be mapped into financial technology design. Given the ubiquity of mobile telephony in Africa, our solution is based on the widely available, relatively inexpensive and open source Android mobile web platform. The proposed system enables illiterate individuals to count money bills, while providing the facility to accept and make payments. In so doing, we provide an example of how a pervasive technology such as smartphones can empower a hitherto often neglected user category of illiterate users

Human-Computer User Interface Design for Semiliterate and Illiterate Users

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has revolutionized the lives of the people. The technology is embedded in daily life of literate or semiliterate/illiterate users. However, the user interface (UI) requirements for semiliterate/illiterate users are different from that of an educated person. The researchers of Human Computer Interaction for Development (HCI4D) face challenges to improve the usability of a UI for the semiliterate users. Therefore, a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) is conducted to provide a set of design factors and guidelines for UI development of semiliterate users. The study is based on extensive research gathered from literature to understand the user-centered design (UCD) approach, enhancing user experience (UX) for semiliterate users. This study analyses fifty two research articles that are published during 2010-2020. The findings shed light on the systematization of UI design guidelines for semiliterate/illiterate users. These guidelines can help in taking advantage of ICT during the COVID-19 pandemic. The analysis shows that seventeen main design factors are indispensable for designing UI of semiliterate users. The most suggested design factors include localization and graphics, which should be incorporated in UI for the target population. Moreover, the lag in the design factors as personalization and consistency open a road for future research

Software Development in the Fintech Industry: A Literature Review

Background: The digital transformation of the financial industry led by technological advances, together with changes in regulations, have created opportunities for companies to provide innovative new financial services. Fintech applies latest technological innovations to provide better and more efficient financial products and business models, disrupting the traditionally rigid banking industry. Objective: The objective of this study was to find out what kind of digital services are provided by the fintech industry, what software or technology related competencies and skills are needed in the development of fintech software, and the special requirements of fintech software. Method: The method of this study was systematic literature review. Following the defined review protocol, 31 primary studies published between the years of 2015 and 2021 were identified as relevant for this review by queries to three scientific databases. The selected primary studies were categorized by services, competencies and requirements. Results: Most of the identified digital services were payment applications but also robo-advisors, budgeting tools and compliance automation tools were found. The technologies and related skills extracted from the studies were divided to software development skills and data science skills and further categorized. Compliance with laws and regulations and various reporting and auditing practices were found to be unique domain requirements for fintech. Security was the most mentioned non-functional requirement of a financial system. Conclusions: Fintech is a cross-disciplinary field with unique requirements for business critical software. However, research on fintech software development is still limited