ABSTRACT
This chapter avoids the formal/informal binary by showing how the everyday financial practices of low-income populations in Cameroon are rooted in complex social forces. Social considerations are an important influence on the financial behaviour of the poor. They affect decisions regarding the source of loans. Social considerations include strength of tie, economic situation of others in social networks, desire to conceal financial circumstances from certain parties, etc. These are evaluated alongside economic concerns such as the interest rate and flexibility. Social factors explain why people differentiate between loans from kin and those from non-kin. Moreover, it is due to social factors that indigenous financial institutions are pervasive in contemporary Cameroon. Their widespread appeal is attributed, in part, to their ability to meet people’s social and economic needs in everyday life. However, for some rural women, neither indigenous financial institutions nor microfinance institutions ensure privacy. This partly explains why they make use of other mechanisms such as money-guarding to save money.
