Trust and Mobile Savings

Study Context

In low-income countries, only 35 percent of adults have a bank or mobile money account—making saving difficult. At the same time, take up and use of savings products is low among people living in low-income areas, who frequently cite lack of trust as one of the main reasons they are hesitant to use banks and formal savings products.

Study Design

This pilot study will conduct scoping work for a randomized evaluation aiming to build trust in banks. The evaluation measures whether cash transfer beneficiaries in low-income urban areas in Ethiopia are more likely to save if they receive a training session designed to build their trust in financial institutions and receive weekly text messages with information on their current balances.

Results and Policy Lessons

Results forthcoming.