Women rival men in cash transfer
Kenyan women match men almost coin for coin in the now vibrant mobile money transfer market. Photo/FILE
By GATONYE GATHURA gathura@ke.nationmedia.com
Posted Sunday, July 8 2012 at 23:30
Posted Sunday, July 8 2012 at 23:30
IN SUMMARY
- Studies show that both genders send and receive the same amount of money and reveals that locals remit more cash
Kenyan women match men almost coin for coin in the now vibrant mobile money transfer market, surveys published by an international polling firm show.
According to three studies on payments and money transfer behaviour carried out in Kenya and another 10 sub-Saharan African countries carried out by Gallup and funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, both genders are involved in mobile money transfers in equal measure.
One of the surveys, published last month, shows that the typical story of men being senders and women being recipients of domestic remittances does not reflect the reality.
“In fact, the data reveals that the differences in sending as well as receiving domestic remittances between both genders are minuscule.”
Kenya comes out as leading in the volume of mobile money being sent either to relatives or friends in the region. However, many people still use buses, couriers and friends to transfer money.
The surveys interviewed 1,000 adults from each country and found that while majority of Kenyans are receiving money through mobile transfers, almost a third of those who do so still get cash sent by bus or through someone else.
“This is because people want to save on the money transfer fees rather than due to lack of network coverage,” argues the study.
Despite this, Kenyans were found to be the most likely than other Africans to only use electronic channels to transfer money.
Domestic remittances top
In the other countries, the shares of respondents sending money only electronically ranged from six per cent in Uganda and South Africa to less than one per cent in Rwanda and Mali.
The study also disputes the common belief that urban Kenyans are sending more money to rural folks than they are receiving.
Domestic remittances also often flow from city to city.
More than 59 per cent of Kenyans received money from local residents compared to four per cent who received international remittances.
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