Branchless Banking : how to improve the incentives given to an agent to strengthen a mobile money network ? A case study of Urwego Opportunity Bank in Rwanda

Details

Supervisors

Béreau, Sophie

Faculty

Louvain School of Management

Degree label

Master [120] en sciences de gestion

Abstract

Branchless banking is a relatively new approach in the banking and telecommunication industry, but also in the development sector. Over the last years, it became a hot topic in developing countries. This allows to give basic financial services to customers who were previously unbanked, by making use of the mobile phones and intermediaries that are called « the agents ». This type of banking has multiple advantages and challenges. This master thesis analyses the challenges around the agents and takes a closer look at the incentives given to them to strenghten a network. In this regard, this descriptive study was carried out to provide additionnal information for the management of Urwego Opportunity Bank to make the best future decisions. I thus reviewed the most popular practices all over the world, and particularly analysed the special case of Urwego Opportunity Bank. The methodology involved interviews with the management and the agents but also data gathering from the system. Based on my findings, I came up with various recommendations. Overall the study suggests that there is a lack of transactions, especially for agents located in rural areas. Moreover, as other studies have shown, it reveals that liquidity management is an issue for most of the agents. It is recommended to UOB’s management to address those two flaws in order to strenghten the agent’s network.