Mobile Banking as Enabling and Constraining Financial Inclusion in Pakistan- A Theoretical Perspective

This paper provides a theoretical framework for exploring the role of new technologies for ‘banking’ the poor via mobile banking (m-banking) for financial inclusion in developing countries. It extends the literature beyond previous studies that examined m-banking through a technological or economic lens from the provider’s perspective, or from a collective national or regional level focussing on the individual user’s perspective. Thus the aim of the paper is to bridge the theoretical and methodological gap by justifying the application of Orlikowski’s Duality of Technology, as a socio-technical lens to evaluate how the social construction of m-banking enables and constrains poor women to access government-to person (G2P) payments, or digital social cash in Pakistan- a country that has been previously under researched. By shifting the level of analysis to the organisational level, the structuration framework helps us investigate the social and economic impact of m-banking in the restructuring of poor households for financial inclusion in Pakistan, and the effect of external and internal institutional forces in the redesign of emerging new technologies and financial practices. Furthermore, the paper debates why the socio-materiality of technology fails to provide a conceptual framework for this research. To conclude the paper highlights how the Duality of Technology contributes to new knowledge through a socio-technical perspective that underpins the philosophical orientation of the research to study the complex relationship between m-banking, households structures and social actors that provide an interpretive frame within the case study of the Benazir Income Support Programme in Pakistan

A methodological perspective on mobile banking for G2P payments in Pakistan

This paper aims to fulfil the methodological gaps that are prevalent within mobile banking (m-banking) practices in the government-to-person (G2P) payment sector in developing countries. By drawing upon the interpretive and social constructionist stance that underpins the theoretical framework, it highlights how the case study methodology guides a qualitative approach for data collection in the study. Hence, an interpretive case study of the Benazir Support Programme in Pakistan, provides a holistic view of m-banking practices from both programme designers as well as women user’s perspective. We discuss how an interpretive methodology ‘constructs’ social realities around mobile banking for individually ‘enabling’ and ‘constraining’ G2P payments, and its impact on financial inclusion for socio-economic change within households. To conclude, we argue why financial education, and training is important for ‘capabilities development’ in the financial inclusion agenda to eradicate poverty in Pakistan

ACCU3RATE: A mobile health application rating scale based on user reviews

Background- Over the last decade, mobile health applications (mHealth App) have evolved exponentially to assess and support our health and well-being. Objective- This paper presents an Artificial Intelligence (AI)-enabled mHealth app rating tool, called ACCU3RATE, which takes multidimensional measures such as user star rating, user review and features declared by the developer to generate the rating of an app. However, currently, there is very little conceptual understanding on how user reviews affect app rating from a multi-dimensional perspective. This study applies AI-based text mining technique to develop more comprehensive understanding of user feedback based on several important factors, determining the mHealth app ratings. Method- Based on the literature, six variables were identified that influence the mHealth app rating scale. These factors are user star rating, user text review, user interface (UI) design, functionality, security and privacy, and clinical approval. Natural Language Toolkit package is used for interpreting text and to identify the App users’ sentiment. Additional considerations were accessibility, protection and privacy, UI design for people living with physical disability. Moreover, the details of clinical approval, if exists, were taken from the developer’s statement. Finally, we fused all the inputs using fuzzy logic to calculate the new app rating score. Results and conclusions- ACCU3RATE concentrates on heart related Apps found in the play store and App gallery. The findings indicate the efficacy of the proposed method as opposed to the current device scale. This study has implications for both App developers and consumers who are using mHealth Apps to monitor and track their health. The performance evaluation shows that the proposed mHealth scale has shown excellent reliability as well as internal consistency of the scale, and high inter-rater reliability index. It has also been noticed that the fuzzy based rating scale, as in ACCU3RATE, matches more closely to the rating performed by experts

Mobile banking in the government-to-person payment sector for financial inclusion in Pakistan

Whilst there have been growing interest and efforts by governments in developing countries to disburse digital government-to-person (G2P) payments to promote financial inclusion, the role of mobile banking in the receipt of social cash remains under-researched. Through an interpretive case study of the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) in Pakistan, this paper applies Orlikowski’s Duality of Technology that critically examines mobile banking usage by women beneficiaries and technology's effects on the institutional properties of their households. Qualitative data were collected through semi-structured interviews from participants located in Pakistan. The findings highlighted that mobile banking enabled women to receive the full amount of grants, securely and conveniently, from agents. However, mobile banking imposed human, socio-economic and technological constraints which restricted women's access to and usage of financial services that limited financial inclusion. Women were socially and politically empowered, thereby, social inclusion was transformative. This paper theoretically contributes to the Duality of Technology framework that was deterministic for women beneficiaries. The study accentuates the redesign of mobile banking to match women's capabilities, and imparting financial and digital training to them. Also, the provision of a range of financial resources to beneficiaries may steer micro-entrepreneurial activities to advance the inclusion agenda in Pakistan

Political Power and Digital Payments in a Government Social Cash Programme

The opportunities provided by digital technologies to governments in distributing digital welfare payments, or government-to-person (G2P) payments to poor citizens has had a profound effect on the inclusion agenda in many developing countries. However, paucity remains on research that investigates the motivations behind the transition from cash to digital G2P payments and its effects on institutional practices. Hence, this paper examined the case of a government social cash programme in Pakistan that implemented digital payments for disbursing G2P payments to poor women beneficiaries. It explored how the interplay of political forces with external and institutional forces influenced the construction of digital payments and its implications on programme managers. Also, how digital payments affected the power equilibrium for certain political actors involved in the programme. Through case study research, qualitative data was collected through interviews conducted with programme designers and stakeholders in the G2P programme. The findings concluded that digital technologies were socially-embedded in the organisational context, so were progressively transformative for programme designers. Hence, digital payments led to the institutional strengthening of the G2P programme, albeit, diminished the power of other political actors. As contribution, the paper sheds light on how the construction of digital payments was a socio-political process that shifted the power equilibrium by creating new structures of power and authority. This paper has implications for governments, banks and international funding agencies who are utilising digital payments to promote the inclusion agenda for its citizens

Mobile banking for financial inclusion in Pakistan

Whilst the digitisation of government-to-person (G2P) payments, or government social cash, is becoming increasingly significant for governments to advance financial inclusion in developing countries, the role of mobile banking (m-banking) to promote this agenda remains under researched. The extant literature available on m-banking was delimited to person-to-person (P2P) payments that examined m-banking through an economic or technological lens from providers’ perspectives. Hence, in this study, I have used the Duality of Technology (DoT) as a socio-technical lens to analyse m-banking innovation from both providers’ and users’ perspectives. The methodology used was a case study of the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) in Pakistan that disbursed G2P payments to poor women only. The study aimed to investigate the influence of the external and internal institutional forces on the social construction of m-banking, how m-banking enabled and/or constrained programme managers and women beneficiaries, and the effects of m-banking on the institutional properties of poor households for structural transformation, or financial inclusion in BISP households in Pakistan. Primary data was collected from key participants located in the m-banking pilot sites of Islamabad and Rawalpindi in Pakistan. In total, 33 semi-structured interviews were conducted with BISP managers, women beneficiaries, bankers, mobile operator and international agency staff, and 2 focus groups were organised with women beneficiaries. Additionally, secondary data was drawn from company reports, official documents and formal and informal media sources. The qualitative data was thematically analysed, and the data collated from multiple sources and methods established the validity, credibility, trustworthiness and reliability of the conceptual outcomes in the case study. The findings, interpreted through DoT, disclosed that m-banking was socially constructed to meet managerial objectives, and being socially-embedded in the BISP context, it was transformative in enabling managers to achieve transparency, visibility, security and efficiency in delivering G2P payments. From women beneficiaries’ perspectives, m-banking provided flexibility and convenience to receive full payments, but embedded certain socio-economic, technological and human constraints that restricted their access to and usage of financially inclusive services that limited financial inclusion. However, owing to women’s empowerment and social change, social inclusion was perceived to be progressively transformative. Although the findings informed the DoT framework, we conclude that the Information Communications and Technology for Development (ICT4D) discourse was deterministic for beneficiaries, unless combined with the Capabilities vision. As contribution to the study, we shed light on how m-banking may be redesigned to embed resources to expand women beneficiaries’ capabilities and skills, in addition to, providing access to financial resources for steering micro-entrepreneurial activities. Also, financial and digital training should be imparted to beneficiaries to advance the inclusion agenda in Pakistan

Mobile Banking Adoption and Diffusion: Enabling and Constraining Social or Financial Inclusion among Poor Women in Pakistan?

Whilst the adoption and diffusion of mobile banking has revolutionised the banking sector in developing countries, paucity remains on exploring the role of mobile banking for government-to-person (G2P) transfers. Through an interpretive case study of the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) in Pakistan, the paper investigated how the adoption of mobile phones enabled and constrained poor women for receiving G2P payments and its impact on poor households. We analysed the qualitative data collected, through semi-structured interviews, from semi-urban women users, programme designers and mobile banking providers through the structuration lens. We argued that albeit m-banking was ‘socially constructed’ and ‘socially embedded’ within the organisational context that enabled BISP designers, it imposed technological and human constraints upon women users. Our findings further revealed that the diffusion of m-banking empowered women for social inclusion, but financial inclusion was limited in providing access to a range of financial services. We contributed to the theoretical literature by contending that Orlikowski’s Duality of Technology failed to address the issue of ‘human poverty’ through the Capabilities Approach. So unless there was a paradigm shift through which m-banking provided ‘capabilities’ in enabling micro-entrepreneurial development, m-banking would remain palliative for poverty ‘alleviation’ rather than poverty ‘elimination’ in Pakistan. \ \ Keywords: mobile banking, adoption, diffusion, government-to-person payments (G2P), poor women, social inclusion, financial inclusion, capabilities, Pakistan