Study on Phone Usage for Financial Services

Study on Phone Usage for Financial Services A STUDY ON USAGE OF MOBILE PHONE IN THE ACCESS OF FINANCIAL SERVICES AMONG RESIDENTS OF KANGUNDO CONSTITUENCY Background to the study The use of mobile has been taunted as the next big thing in the empowering of communities. ICT plays a big role in literally all spheres of life, and this explains why the government has supported laying of ICT infrastructure across the country. It is reported that Central Bank of Kenya’s enabling regulatory approach allows 23 million people (74% of adult population) to use mobile financial services via 90,000 agents (Alliance for Financial Inclusion, 2012, P.20). Expansion of the ICT sector has a direct contribution to a society’s access to information and subsequently empowerment. The use of mobile phone has revolutionized banking in the recent past, by netting the initially unbanked. Inventions in mobile phone have made tremendous contributions to financial services advancement. Banks have jostled to outsmart each other by launching varied mobile banking services, so are the mobile network operators. Such services by the banks are dependent on the platforms of existing mobile phone network operators. These services are accessed through USSD, WAP applications and internet banking. We have seen the emergence of mobile bank accounts such as M-benki (KCB), M-Shwari (CBA), M-Kesho (Equity Bank) and Pesa Mob (Family Bank). There have been partnership deals among these Banks and Mobile phone operators. Moreover, customers are able to access credit facilities through these mobile bank accounts as well as make loan payments. Other services in clude funds transfer, airtime top up, credit card payment, accessing mini-statements, balance enquiries and even stoppage of cheques. Agency Banking, which was meant to bring banking services closer to the customers equally relies heavily on the use of mobile phones. They include KCB Mtaani and Co-op Jirani. However, it is notable that there is a variation in usage of the mobile phone platform between urban and rural areas. We shall seek to know the trends in the usage of mobile phones to access financial services by residents of Kangundo Constituency. Statement of the problem This is a study to gauge whether residents of Kangundo constituency have embraced mobile phone technology to access financial services. Significance of study This study seeks to appreciate the use to technology to ease financial services accessibility. Traditional methods of visiting banks have long been overtaken by inventions in technology. Therefore this study will seek to explore whether the residents of this constituency have taken advantage of the more convenient financial services provision methods, as is now commonly known- paperless and Branchless banking. Access to banking services includes access to credit facilities which are a key catalyst for economic empowerment. The findings of this survey will prove useful to the constituents of Kangundo, financial services providers as well as mobile network operators. Purpose of the study This study seeks to: To establish the number of residents who own mobile phones To establish the number of residents who have registered for mobile phone services such as Mpesa, Airtel Money, Yu Cash and Orange Cash To establish the number of residents who have opened mobile bank accounts To establish applications used to access mobile banking services: USSD, WAP, Internet banking To establish the usage of bank agents in access of financial services To establish demographic trends in access of Banking services (Age, sex, education, employment status) Definition of concepts USSD- Unstructured Supplementary Service Data WAP Wireless Application Protocol Unbanked By definition, unbanked customers have no checking, savings, credit, or insurance account with a traditional, regulated depository institution (Delloitte, 2012, p.2) Literature Review The government recognizes ICT as a foundation for economic development, and as such, Kenya’s vision of knowledge based economy aims at shifting the current industrial development path towards innovation where creation, adoption, adaptation and use of knowledge remain the key source of economic growth as this is a critical tool for expanding human skills and rests largely on a system of producing, distributing and utilizing information and knowledge that in turn plays a great role in driving productivity and economic prosperity (Government of Kenya, 2013, p.21). One of such ICT tools is the mobile phones which continue to offer a myriad of opportunities, specifically on the financial sphere. To leverage on the above, the Government bets on the increase in communication to spur economic growth in tandem with the vision 2030 blueprint. As Watts, 2001 observes, ‘’some clients may prefer to access services at a distance. Increasingly, in all fields, consumers want a service to be available when they identify a need for it, with minimum delay and minimum effort: they want it here, and they want it now’’ (p6). The urge to access services with urgency and at a minimum cost is making more people gravitate towards technologically based products that are available through the mobile phone. The use of this gadget has simplified life and as such transactions can comfortably be initiated and terminated at one’s convenience. Further, it is notable that the settlement of these transactions is instant. ICT increase efficiency, productivity, and access to goods, services, information, and markets. Demand for these benefits is high. If the right compliments- such as power, connectivity, content, skills and support systems, functional markets and supportive policy frameworks- can be put in place, demand for ICT will be correspondingly high (William J. Kramer, Beth Jenkins, Robert s. Katz, 2007, p.9). With Kangundo being a rural area, we shall then be interested in knowing how the use of mobile phone has impacted on its residents, and whether they have taken full advantage of this revolutionary tool that continue to transform lives across the globe. Mobile phones have characterized the everyday life of Kenyans. Cheap Chinese phones have found their way in the market and this has eased the affordability of this ICT tool. Mobile ownership at the household level is almost as high as access. Approximately 75% of the households have at least a member who owns a mobile phone. In rural areas, ownership is 67% while in urban areas ownership reaches 90% (CCK, 2011, p.13). It is essential for banks to sensitize on mobile banking and ensure that customers maximize its use bearing in mind the capital invested (Korir, 2012, p.43). Information is power and banks have a role to play if they are to penetrate and crack open the mobile banking market. Banks will rely much on studies to inform their decisions on the best way to tap in to this market. The government has indeed been on the forefront by championing for ease of access of banking services to all citizens. Branchless banking through retail agents is made possible through the information and communication technologies that customers, retail agents and mobile network operators use to record and communicate transaction details quickly, reliably and cheaply over great distances. Among the first mobile network operators in the world to offer branchless banking were Globe Telecom and SMART in the Philippines. They launched their SmartMoney service in 2000 (in conjunction with Banco de Oro) followed by the G-Cash1 service in 2000. Customers can store cash, send funds from person to person, pay bills, make loan repayments and purchase goods at shops. They primarily use G-cash to buy airtime and to send money to friends and family (Financial Sector Deepening, 2009a, p1) Mobile banking represents a more cost efficient channel for the banks, allowing them to charge less for transactions, and permitting the consumer to have immediate access to information related to their bank accounts.P.3. Worldwide, more people now own a mobile phone than a bank account. A revolution in mobile phone payments is taking place. The way mobile devices are evolving makes it difficult for banks to find the right solution to manage complex technologies and provide a consistent service to customers. http://www.cr2.com/solutions/mobile-banking/mobile-banking-solution.html Alliance for financial inclusion. A High Level Conference on Kenya’s Economic Successes, Prospects and Challenges Making Inclusive Growth a Reality September 2013 Central Bank of Kenya’s enabling regulatory approach allows 23 million people (74% of adult population) to use mobile financial services via 90,000 agents. Pg 20 References Alliance for Financial Inclusion. 2013. A High Level Conference on Kenya’s Economic Successes, Prospects and Challenges Making Inclusive Growth a Reality. Retrieved on February 22, 2014 from Delloitte. (2012). Banking the Unbanked: Prepaid Cards, Mobile payments, and Global opportunities in Mobile Banking. Retrieved February 22, 2014, from https://www.deloitte.com/assets/DcomunitedStates/Local%20Assets /Documents /FSI/US_FSI_Bankingtheunbanked_043012.pdf

Are You Getting Employee Benefits? Essay

Are your employee benefits giving you the payback you deserve in increased employee appreciation and satisfaction? Chances are, your employee benefits are not. On average, organizations spend 41 cents for employee benefits for every dollar of payroll. That’s 29% of the total employee compensation package. Research reported in the journal, Personnel Psychology, suggests that employees only understand and appreciate between 31 and 68% of the cost or market value of the employee benefits they receive. In fact, the most recent data indicates that employers are spending 43% of total pay on types of employee benefits. Employees undervalue their comprehensive set of employee benefits for many reasons including: employers communicate the value of employee benefits poorly, the employees have little or no choice in employee benefits packages or options, and the employees misunderstand the market value of their employee benefits. Maximize the Value of Employee Benefits Expenditures Employers can overcome these factors by allowing employees to make choices about the types of employee benefits and by providing lots of information. You can jump start the education process by providing paycheck inserts that detail your cost for each employee benefit. Other ways to get employees to think about the value of their employee benefits include interactive computer quizzes, employee benefits fairs, telephone hot lines, workplace posters and video tapes or television discussing employee benefits. Firms that wish to maximize the value of their employee benefits expenditures need to survey their employees to ask them the types of employee benefits that they value and how much they value each type. Employee benefits surveys or focus groups are important first steps in understanding employee preferences for types of benefits. Relevant questions about the desired types of employee benefits might include the following. What types of employee benefits are most important to you? If you could choose one new type of employee benefit, what would it be? If you were given X dollars for employee benefits, how would you spend them? Follow-up research about the cost of employee benefits that employees desire can help you determine which programs will provide the most à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“bang for the buck.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  On the basis of the data developed, you can adapt your employee benefits offerings or provide choices about types of employee benefits that are consistent with organizational objectives such as employee retention or performance. Consider Types of Employee Benefits The variety of employee benefits offered today is immense. Some employee benefits, such as health insurance and retirement benefits, are almost institutionalized or expected in the United States. However, other employee benefits are not – and these are the types of employee benefits that set companies apart. Organizational values are often manifest in the types of employee benefits organizations offer. Thus, the employee benefits help to establish an organization’s positive reputation as an employer of choice in the marketplace. So, isn’t it about time to reconsider the employee benefits package that your company offers? Following is a long list of the types of employee benefits that are offered across hundreds of U.S. firms. The cost of these employee benefits varies, as do employee and employer perceptions about the value the employee benefits deliver. The key for organizations looking for a competitive edge, through the types of employee benefits, they offer, is to determine what employee benefits you can provide that are most valued and useful to your employees. Hopefully, these employee benefits will approach a 1:1 cost to perceived benefit ratio. Types of Employee Benefits Following are samples of the employee benefits that are offered across many organizations. Use this list of employee benefits to think creatively about your current employee benefits package. Are your employee benefits giving you the competitive edge in attracting and keeping the best employees? Are your employee benefits helping you to create a workplace in which employees are motivated, happy and productive? If not, use this list to determine the types of employee benefits that you may want to consider providing. You’re in competition with the best employers for the best employees. These types of benefits will attract and retain your best talent.

Narrative Essay Samples - Is it a Scam?

Narrative Essay Samples - Is it a Scam? All About Narrative Essay Samples A great ending is when it's linked to the very first portion of the start of the story, and it ought to be correlated to the whole sections of the story. Even though you may make a normal story sound spectacular using the correct words and the appropriate technique, more than often the topic receives the credit for a valuable object of work. The story ought to be well-detailed and organized to spell out the entire story and connect different elements of it. The exact same thing goes with writing. Stories about traveling have an outstanding potential. Details have to be carefully selected to support, explain, and boost the story. Possessing a crystal clear and structured plan is the foundation for any superior bit of writing, and a college essay is not any different. To offer you a remedy on the best way to compose an impressive college essay, here are a couple of hints you may wish to consider. Such approach always pays off because it offers you an exceptional insight into the practice of essay writing that is directed at achieving excellent outcomes. The alternative was supposed to go back down. The subject of the narrative essay usually indicates the writer's experience and there's no need to use any data from the outside sources. You will need the follow these steps for writing lots of practice essays and you'll understand that your thought method is really developing in the exact same direction. The tricky thing about the narrative essay is there are always some limits to the sum of content it's possible to give your readers with. Now you can purchase genuine college essay online, one that is going to fit your financial plan and get your work done also. The bulk of the essay utilizes standard English and English grammar. Essays are available in many forms. A narrative essay is thought to be among the most popular forms of tasks that students get all too often. Writing a college essay can arrive in various forms and styles based on your taste. Thus, let's take a peek at how to begin a narrative essay. If you are searching for one, below is a list of topic that may assist you in your narrative essay. Who knew essay writing may be so tough. It is crucial to structure an essay in various sections so that it isn't hard for the readers to read and adhere to the author's thoughts clearly. It's tricky to pick just a single topic whenever there are so many you could write about. In standard essay writing, however, it's especially crucial that you use specific examples to illustrate your primary points. Possessing good essay examples provides the reader an in-depth and on-the-court idea about what a well structured and coherent essay appears like. When it has to do with narrative essay topics, there are a number of things you have to take into consideration. There are quite a lot of kinds of essays you might be assigned to finish. The main matter to be mindful about in personal descriptive essay is that there shouldn't be any over-exaggeration. It's better to write and share your individual stories with different individuals. Therefore, the focus isn't merely descriptive. The matter of bullying still abounded. If you are experiencing a hard time understanding how to compose a personal narrative essay, you ought not feel as a failure you've got good business. The Nuiances of Narrative Essay Samples Choose an event in which you believe you've acted exemplary and made an adult option. Templates like Descriptive Essay about Office can be helpful for someone who's planning to s top by an office. Let's aim for approximately ten paragraphs. With a profound sample, you'll be more mindful of what topic is more inclined to connect with your readers and what's going to miss the target. Try to remember that a high degree of detailing is a feature of all decent narrative essay examples. A brief sentence is utilized to make the emotional resolution of the admission essay. Try to remember that even though narrative essays seem a very simple endeavor, it remains an assignment that should be ready on time. Reviewing some narrative essay examples will be able to help you to organize your information and help you decide how to compose each paragraph to acquire the best outcomes. Sometimes, however, a narrative isn't about such primary topics. It is very personal, so you should underline the significance of the ongoing events for your identity.

The Desire for Everlasting Life and Gilgamesh Essay

The desire for everlasting life or immortality has been the first and the oldest quest of mankind. At the beginning of time, man was designed to live forever. When God created Adam, he created him to dwell on the earth and to fill it with his offspring’s. At no time was he told that this was a temporary arrangement. He was to live forever unless he ate from one certain tree. If he ate from that tree, then he would die. We are then left with several questions, if he had not eaten from that tree, would he still be alive? If he was meant to live forever, was that desire instilled in him? And as his descendants, was the desire to live forever instilled in each of us as well? That desire is in all mankind. From the beginning of†¦show more content†¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"I’ll establish my name: Gilgamesh, who joined battle with fierce Humbaba (they’ll say). An eternal name I will make for myself.† (pgs. 19, 20) But in this respect, he makes the same mistake that Adam made; he takes something that does not belong to him, Humbaba’s life, and because of that, he looses the life of his best friend, his companion, Enkidu. Not only that, but now he may also have lost the chance at the one thing he truly desires, immortality. He too angers his gods, and he too is punished with the loss of Enkidu’s life, and perhaps his own as well. With the death of his dearest friend Enkidu, Gilgamesh now begins to actually fear death and begins searching for the one man that was made immortal by the gods to ask him how to overcome death. In Gilgamesh’s own words, the death of his friend Enkidu has shaken him to the core. When speaking of his death he says â€Å"Enkidu, whom I so loved, who went with me through every hardship. The fate of mankind has overtaken him. Six days and seven nights I wept for him†¦I was frightened..I have grown afraid of death, so I roam the steppe, my friend’s case weighs heavy upon me..my friend whom I loved is turned into clay†¦Shall I too not lie down like him, and never get up forever and ever?† (pg. 78) Where before Gilgamesh wanted immortality so that he could continue a life of fame andShow MoreRelated Immortal Life vs. Immortal Name: Gilgamesh and Beowulf Essay1433 Words   |  6 PagesImmortal Life vs. Immortal Name: Gilgamesh and Beowulf Death. Fate. Immortality. Destiny. All are subjects that we tend to avoid. While most of us hope for life after death, we tend not to dwell on this subject because we are uncomfortable with the unknown. On those rare occasions when we allow ourselves to think about the fact that our days are numbered, we wonder if death can be cheated and immortality gained. Some have suggested that being remembered is just as enduring as living forever. 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