Protecting women using DFS during the pandemic

The global COVID-19 pandemic is bringing about social changes that will have lasting effects on how we work, socialize, and consume. One of them is the increased usage of mobile money and digital financial services. While the mobile gender gap is narrowing, as documented in GSMA’s latest Mobile Gender Gap Report 2020, with 54% of women in low- and middle-income countries now using mobile internet, the report also finds that literacy and skills are the #1 and #2 barriers for women’s mobile ownership and mobile internet usage. In that context, how can we — practitioners, governments, women rights’ advocates — ensure that while governments are pushing mobile usage to reduce physical contact during the pandemic, women have a safe experience of mobile services? One bad experience, even in a time of crisis, can lead to rejection of new platforms and undercut our quest for digital inclusion.

1. The rules for digital finance are relaxed

In Rwanda, the office of the Prime Minister has recommended that “Electronic payments and online banking services should be used whenever possible rather than visiting banks or ATMs.” [1] This recommendation is #2 in the government’s list of 10 preventative measures, underscoring the importance of keeping the country’s economy afloat. The Central Bank of Kenya has increased the transaction ceiling and removed the fees on smaller transactions (up to Ksh. 1,000) and for transfers between bank accounts and mobile wallets. [2] In Ghana, the central bank has recently allowed the public to open an online bank account without having to physically visit a bank branch. No doubt other governments will follow suit.

2. Building women’s capacity is critical

While these initiatives will certainly help millions to survive the pandemic by being able to sell and buy their goods, receive critical remittances, and borrow remotely, relaxing standards may come with a high risk when a high proportion of users remain illiterate and may fall prey to scams.

Before the pandemic struck, we spoke with the Central Bank of Ghana, who shared anecdotal evidence of how lenders may take advantage of illiterate women. A woman customer of an MFI received a text message informing her that a certain amount of money was at her disposal. Of course, the amount in question was a loan, but no details were provided on the terms. Accepting the amount was very easy (just a simple key press) and the amount would be transferred to her current account. She went ahead and accepted the loan, thinking it was a gift. Not a scam per se, but clearly a way to take advantage of poorly educated clients and push them towards unmanageable levels of debt. This sort of approach may only be the tip of the iceberg, when real scammers will get in the game.

In my work with Strategic Impact Advisors, I am helping design a digital financial literacy/digital skills curriculum funded by USAID and targeted to women. We tried to think about a few key questions customers should ask themselves when such a message lands on their phone. We came up with the following ones we encourage every customer to ask themselves before accepting any amount of money.

• Who sent me this offer: Is it my bank, my agent, my telco, my government?

• Or is it a remittance from a friend or family?

• Mobile scams are possible...

• Explain this money

• No should be an option; can I opt out?

• Share the information with your friends to warn them

• Make sure you understand the terms before accepting

• Ask questions; is there a customer service number included?

• Refuse the offer if you don’t understand it

• Trust your instinct

One can only speculate that without the support of a network of agents and the necessary literacy skills, women’s usage of digital financial services will decrease, they will face a harder time keeping their income and will have to rely once again on family’s generosity to survive. Those who fall prey to scams may lose even more income.

At a bare minimum, central banks and governments should put in place toll-free grievances numbers to keep track of issues as they arise and protect the most vulnerable population. Organizations working with customers should share at least one simple rule of thumb: if you don’t understand where the money is coming from, don’t take it. As we are all looking for silver linings in the pandemic, let’s hope that when the crisis is over, we all take major steps towards educating women to use DFS and mobile internet so they can finally, truly be part of the global digital economies with no fear.

[1] Office of the Prime Minister, Announcement on Enhanced Covid-19 Prevention Measures, March 21, 2020.

[2] Central Bank of Kenya, Emergency Measures to Facilitate Mobile Money Transactions, March 16, 2020.