Impact of covid-19 pandemic on mobile money agents operating on Cairo road in Lusaka

Abstract

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommended utilizing mobile money to minimize the transmission of the COVID-19 virus through contactless and cashless activities wherever feasible. The Bank of Zambia (BOZ) responded on March 30, 2020, with mitigating measures that allowed for the use of mobile money services to mitigate the pandemic's negative economic. The regulations sparked complaints from mobile money agents, who claimed that the implementation had harmed their business operations. The major goals of this study were to determine the extent of the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on Cairo Road's mobile money agents. An empirical evaluation was used to assess the pandemic’s impact on the agent's business, which addressed the research gaps that this study attempted to fill. A targeted group of 148 agents on Cairo Road was surveyed using an exploratory method and structured closed ended questions. Primary data was collected via a structured survey that included nominal scale yes or no check boxes and a mix of responses on a Likert 5-point scale. The Taro Yamane statistical approach was used to calculate the sample size of 107 agents and to draw generalized inferences and conclusions for this population. For the 40 research questions in the questionnaire, a reliability analysis was performed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) Descriptive statistical analysis was used to produce more meaningful data. Inference statistical analysis used a research hypothesis to test data to reach conclusions about the variable associations. The study found that the COVID-19 epidemic had a negative impact on the operations of mobile money agents on Cairo Road, where business was better before the pandemic. The decrease in business performance is attributed to the reduction on fees which also reduced the sales revenue which sustains business operations. The availability of float did not boost the number of customer base as customer transactions depended on the availability of cash as well. Some customers would prefer to wait for the agent to find float by borrowing from another agent whereas others would go to transact with another agent. There was more savings than spending done due to the uncertainties during the pandemic.