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

Suresh de Mel; Craig McIntosh; Ketki Sheth; Christopher Woodruff

doi:10.1162/rest_a_00956

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

Suresh de Mel¹; Craig McIntosh²; Ketki Sheth³; Christopher Woodruff⁴

¹ University of Peradeniya · ² University of California San Diego · ³ University of California, Merced · ⁴ University of Oxford

The Review of Economics and Statistics 2022

Abstract 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.

DOI: 10.1162/rest_a_00956
Volume: 104 (2)
Pages: 306-320
Language: en
Export: BibTeX
Sources: openalex crossref