Mobile money agents: The Key to Boosting Financial Inclusion in Rural Fiji

By Uraia Makulau, Analyst, Financial System Development Group, Reserve Bank of Fiji

Mobile money has helped transform the lives of many rural Fijians. In the past, paying bills or topping up their bus cards meant traveling up to 90km to the nearest bank branch. Back-and-forth transport costs added an additional financial burden to rural Fijians with an already limited income.

Today, they can manage their finances from the comfort of their homes, using mobile wallets and digital financial service agents. “It’s easy, it’s fast, and it’s a lifeline”, says Laisani who lives on the outer island of Levuka.

Key to mobile money’s success in rural Fiji are DFS agents – the middlemen linking rural communities with financial service providers (FSP). But despite providing essential services to rural populations, these unsung heroes face enormous challenges.

Reaching target communities on a sprawling archipelago of 110 inhabited islands dispersed over a million square miles can be a logistical nightmare. Especially considering that there are only a handful of agents serving thousands of customers.

At the end of 2022, some 42% of all Fijians (388,373), lived in rural areas. Fiji’s second largest province, Naitasiri has only eight agents to service a mobile customer base of over 97 thousand. That’s roughly one agent for every 12 thousand customers. The lack of DFS agents jeopardizes efficiency and trust in the DFS system.

We can’t exactly solve challenges, but we can expand our agent networks by offering more support. Here’s how:

Commission: Commission is more than just compensation; it’s a lifeline that helps agents thrive. Competitive commission also provides an incentive for aspiring agents to join the network.
Digital Literacy: Digital and financial literacy training can offer agents the skills needed to serve even the remotest customers confidently and professionally.
Technology and Tools: Providing agents with quality technology and digital tools is critical to effectively onboarding customers and delivering quality financial services in remote areas.
Agent Registry: FSPs must maintain an agent registry to track and evaluate agents’ performance. This increases performance and boosts competition.

Enforcing these initiatives will require stakeholder coordination and collaboration. If we can achieve this, we stand the chance to significantly boost financial inclusion of rural populations and accelerate economic growth. Just like Zimbabwe’s Ecocash and Kenya’s M-Pesa, Fiji has the potential to become another mobile money success story.