MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: "Beyond Wage Digitization: Financial Capability and Economic Empowerment of Cambodian Women Migrant Workers," Published by Women's World Banking (WWB)

This report analyzes the financial awareness, financial behaviors and economic empowerment of 2,800 women – mostly migrants – who work in 13 factories in Cambodia and are paid via digital accounts with Wing Bank. The authors’ initial literature review indicated women often hesitate to use digital financial services due to: (1) low levels of trust in the services; (2) practical issues of usage and usefulness; and (3) perceived cost.

The new results are based on a survey conducted by Wing and US-based NGO Women’s World Banking in June and July 2021 as part of a 12-month impact evaluation of training delivered by Wing. Participants in the study earn an average of USD 300 per month. Despite having broad access to and some awareness of their digital wage accounts, the participants tend to prefer using agents or cash. For example, 37 percent of the group claimed to be aware of how to pay bills digitally, but 8 percent actually used their Wing accounts to do so. Meanwhile, 92 percent owned a smartphone, but only 11 percent used the Wing mobile app, suggesting that obstacles persist, such as lack of perceived need and limited digital literacy.

Other results included: (1) workers generally are able to manage their day-to-day expenses but face challenges with the ability to cover unplanned future expenses; and (2) withdrawals are relatively high and frequent, but there is significant potential for increased savings, payments and borrowing. For example, 81 percent of workers used cash for making bill payments, but only 18 percent have used Wing agents and 2 percent have used their phones for this purpose.

In conclusion, while most women do have access to financial technology, this has not yet led to “significant adoption of digital financial services,” especially for paying bills and applying for loans. The authors also suggested that the workers’ high usage of smartphones can be leveraged to advance their financial inclusion and promote a shift from financial transactions via agents toward app usage. This can offer greater security, time savings and simpler cash-out logistics.

This is a summary of a paper by Agnes Salyanty and Jonathan Fu, published by Women’s World Banking, December 2021, 26 pages, available at https://www.findevgateway.org/paper/2021/12/beyond-wage-digitization-financial-capability-and-economic-empowerment-cambodian

By Sheen Gupta, Research Associate

Additional Resources

Wing homepage
https://www.wingmoney.com/

Women’s World Banking homepage
https://www.womensworldbanking.org/

More MicroCapital wrap-ups
https://www.microcapital.org/?s=wrap

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