MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Survey: Majority in Fiji Prefer Cash to Mobile Money

According to the Mobile Money Omnibus Survey conducted in the Republic of Fiji by Tebbutt Research, a market research agency in the Pacific Islands, and the Pacific Financial Inclusion Program (PFIP), a UN-backed program that aims to provide financial services to low-income households, 80 percent of respondents prefer to handle cash rather than utilize mobile payments. The survey was intended to discover factors that prevent people from using mobile money services and to better understand customers’ perceptions of mobile money. The findings included that 50 percent of respondents did not trust the service; 37 percent cited a lack of information about mobile money. Others indicated that they feel they do not need these services. PFIP’s technical analyst Mr Ramanathan Subramanian reportedly commented that active customer usage and retention is possible through demonstration of the product in conjunction with marketing the primary benefit for each particular client, whether it is convenience, safety, price or speed of service.

PFIP is a nonprofit organization based in Fiji that aims to deliver financial services to 80 percent of poor Pacific islanders who have limited or no access to banks. Financial data on the organization is not available.

By Charlotte Newman, Research Associate

About Pacific Financial Inclusion Program (PFIP)
About the Pacific Financial Inclusion Program (PFIP): The nonprofit Pacific Financial Inclusion Program (PFIP) aims to deliver financial services to poor Pacific islanders who have limited or no access to banks. It was established with funding from the United Nations Capital Development Fund, the European Union and the United Nations Development Programme. Financial data on the organization is not available.

Sources and Additional Resources:

The Jet: “Survey Finds 80% Prefer Cash Over Mobile Money,” http://www.thejetnewspaper.com/?p=20959

MicroCapital.org story, February 21, 2012, “MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Financial Literacy Session Promote Savings in Fiji,” https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-financial-literacy-sessions-promote-savings-in-fiji/#more-17087

MicroCapital.org story, November 2, 2011, “MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Digicel Pacific Launches Remittance Service Connecting New Zealand with Tonga, Fiji, Samoa,” https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-digicel-pacific-launches-remittance-service-connecting-new-zealand-with-tonga-fiji-samoa/

MicroCapital Universe Profile: Pacific Financial Inclusion Program (PFIP)
https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=Pacific+Financial+Inclusion+Program+%28PFIP%29

Browse the MicroCapital Universe and add your entry to the wiki at https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/

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