ABSTRACT
This paper explores the ancient susu savings operation in Ghana and whether users and operators are willing to adopt and take-up mobile money (MM) as a technologically mediated micro-saving platform in place of the traditional saving practice to boost financial inclusion. Using field survey data from market traders and susu collectors in several local markets in Ghana, this paper presents findings mainly from qualitative and evocative analyses of the field data. As a key determinant for the adoption of MM services, this study reveals that only 36.5 per cent of the respondents would be comfortable texting their susu contribution via mobile phone to susu collectors. As to whether they are willing to do so, about 41 per cent are willing to transfer their susu savings via a mobile phone to the susu operators. Of the remaining 59.1 per cent who are unwilling to transfer their susu contribution via mobile phone, 61.8 per cent reported that they either do not have enough knowledge or are not conversant with some of the functions of mobile phones. Others (14.6 per cent) are sceptical as to whether their susu contributions would be delivered to the susu operator. Close to 8 per cent also think that they may forget to send their susu contribution if MM is adopted. As to whether the level of education of the susu user has some association with their willingness to adopt MM as part of susu services, the results show that about 75 per cent of the illiterate traders and 61 per cent of primary school dropouts are unwilling to accept MM adoption. This implies that the higher one’s educational level, the more willing he/she will be to accept the use of MM.
