Electronic Payment Technology and Business Finance: A Randomized, Controlled Trial with Mobile Money

• 成果类型: Article; Early Access
• 署名作者: Dalton, Patricio S.; Pamuk, Haki; Ramrattan, Ravindra; Uras, Burak; van Soest, Daan
• 署名单位: Tilburg University; Tilburg University; Wageningen University & Research
• 刊物名称: MANAGEMENT SCIENCE
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0025-1909
• DOI: 10.1287/mnsc.2023.4821
• 发表日期: 2023
• 关键词: SME finance; Financial integration; Mobile money; e-payments

摘要

We conducted a randomized, controlled trial with small- and medium-sized enterprises in Kenya to estimate the causal impact of an electronic payment (e-payment) technology on business finance. Using an encouragement design, we exogenously increased e-payment usage among a random subset of firms by relaxing adoption transaction costs and information barriers. Sixteen months after the intervention, we find that the e-payment technology increased access to mobile loans (in the number of loans as well as in the amount borrowed) by at least 50% (0.17 standard deviation), likely because of the reduction of information asymmetries brought by an increase in digital transactions. We find no effect of the e-payment technology on sales and profits, but we do find a reduction of sales volatility and precautionary investment, especially for smaller firms. This suggests that mobile loans help smaller firms cope with short-term negative shocks. We provide a stylized model of business finance that rationalizes these findings.