Can Mobile-Linked Bank Accounts Bolster Savings? Evidence from a Randomized Controlled Trial in Sri Lanka

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: de Mel, Suresh; McIntosh, Craig; Sheth, Ketki; Woodruff, Christopher
• 署名单位: University of Peradeniya; University of California System; University of California San Diego; University of California System; University of California Merced; University of Oxford
• 刊物名称: REVIEW OF ECONOMICS AND STATISTICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0034-6535
• DOI: 10.1162/rest_a_00956
• 发表日期: 2022-03
• 页码: 306-320
• 关键词: impacts; COSTS; POWER

摘要

We introduce a new mobile money interface that permits Sri Lankans to deposit mobile airtime balances directly into a formal bank account. Randomizing access and prices, we find a small increase in savings deposits with the partner institution and formal banks more generally, but no change in overall savings. When the deposit transaction costs are completely removed, only 26% use the mobile deposit service and only 7% use it frequently. Our results imply that deposit transaction costs are not a significant barrier to increasing savings, limiting the potential gains of mobile-linked savings products for financial inclusion.