Preliminary Assessment of a Pilot Intervention Run by BASIX Involving the Use of Handheld Devices to Record Microcredit Repayments
This paper examines the viability of a pilot project that BASIX, an MFI, implemented in India, to reduce the costs of its microcredit repayment data collection.
In the project, field officers used handheld devices to record repayment transactions and print receipts, in place of the existing manual, hand-written process. The study finds that the use of the handheld device-based channel reduced costs involved in recording each loan repayment transaction by reducing time needed to enter client repayment data in the field and integrate the data with the back-end database. Study results indicate that:
- BASIX was able to avoid costs associated with alternate wireless data transmission channels;
- Cost savings from the channel were significant and delivered an 82 percent return on investment, ensuring the financial viability of the channel;
- Clients trust the technology-enabled channel partly because they trust the field officers who handle the technology.
Finally, the paper provides recommendations on implementation details that can further strengthen the daily workflow of the new technology-enabled channel.
