Mobile Money in Uganda: Use, Barriers and Opportunities

This report presents findings from the Financial Inclusion Tracker Surveys Project (FITS) commissioned by Bill & Melinda Gates Foundations (BMGF) Financial Services for the Poor program. The project aims to track the uptake, use, and market potential of mobile money (m-money) services in Pakistan, Uganda, and Tanzania. Findings from the FITS project, which includes annual panel-based household surveys conducted on a national scale, are intended to support the m-money activities of BMGF and other stakeholders. The surveys also facilitate analyses of m-moneys relationship to household financial behaviour. The report presents findings from the first annual FITS survey of 3000 Ugandan households conducted in February-March 2012. Findings include:

• One in five households in Uganda has at least one user of m-money services;
• Households with registered m-money users are likely to engage in a greater number of financial activities;
• Half of households with registered m-money users store money on their m-money accounts;
• Remittances are primarily used for routine financial support among relatives living in different households;
• Awareness of m-money services among non-users is relatively high.