An Evaluation of Factors that Influence the Adoption of Mobile Money Services by Zambian University Students. A Case of ZCAS University

Abstract

Mobile money services in Zambia, like in many other African countries, have been experiencing a significant growth in their user base. According to Bank of Zambia records,the value of mobile money transactions in 2023 skyrocketed by an astonishing 52.8%, reaching a staggering K452.0 billion.This remarkable statistic serves as evidence of acceptability and adoption of digital financial services among Zambian consumers.The mobile money services were deemed to be financial services for the poor and unformalized business communities, surprisingly, with the passage of time mobile services have gained so much popularity even among the elite communities.This study evaluates the factors that influence the adoption of mobile money by Zambian university students using ZCAS-University as a case study. The research adopted a mixed method approach and used questionnaires and semi-structure interviews to collect data from a sample size of 150 students. The quantitative data was then analyzed using statistical package for social sciences while the qualitative data was analyzed using thematic technique. The findings were that students adopted mobile money mainly due to accessibility and ease of use. The study showed that they were areas where banks were better than mobile money in terms of security and professionalism, therefore, students did not adopt mobile money because it was highly better than banks but because it was more accessible. Other factors such as ease of use, perceived usefulness and affordability played a role in the adoption of mobile money in varying degrees.