Promoting mobile money use and financial inclusion through training and text reminders: Experimental evidence from Malawi

Digital financial services may help informal savings groups use safer and more efficient financial tools, but take-up remains limited in many low-income settings. Using a clustered randomised controlled trial, we evaluate the effectiveness of an intervention that combines financial literacy training, mobile money instruction, and SMS reminders among Village Savings Loan and Association (VSLA) members. The findings show that the intervention led to higher reported knowledge of mobile money services and use of selected functions. It also improved self-reported financial inclusion indicators and perceptions of mobile money as a secure and efficient tool for VSLA savings and deposits. Treated participants were less likely to believe that losing a phone would imply losing mobile money balances. These findings suggest that training combined with SMS reminders can improve knowledge, self-reported use, and perceptions of mobile money among individuals already engaged in informal savings groups.