Access to formal financial services, or being financially included, allows individuals the opportunity to plan, save, and stabilize their financial lives. Financial inclusion has recently received higher priority due to its promise to improve financial well-being and, in turn, assist in the reduction of poverty on larger scales. The simultaneous success of M-Pesa, bolstered by the proliferation of mobile phone access, convinced many that mobile money would enable financial inclusion. However, with nuanced characteristics in each country and distinct financial systems and economy, mobile money adoption and usage is varied. In this paper, we evaluate the mobile money's viability as a vehicle for financial inclusion in the Southern region of Ghana. We report on qualitative interviews and observations from five different cities and surrounding small towns and evaluate individual financial practices, existing and projected needs for financial services, and the potential role of mobile money in fulfilling these goals.

A Qualitative Exploration of Mobile Money in Ghana

paper explores the factors impacting cloud computing adoption in the South African financial services sector. Through a literature review the merits and relevance of the Technology Organization Environment (TOE) model is shown. Using the three contexts of the TOE model eight variables influencing the intention to adopt cloud computing is examined. An online survey of IT and business managers working within the South African financial services sectors was conducted. The results of a PLS-SEM analysis of the data shows that top-management support and compatibility are significant predictors within the sample and context of the research. The research builds upon previous technology adoption studies and adds new findings in a developing country context. The growing relevance and adoption of cloud computing makes the results relevant to a broader organizational audience within similar contexts.

Cloud Computing Adoption for Business Development: A TOE Perspective

In this study, we interviewed players of daily fantasy sports to understand their information management and decision-making behaviors. Due to the rapid cycle of decision-making that is required to play daily fantasy sports, we found that participants engaged in sophisticated and complex methods of information compilation and evaluation, using a wide range of digital and analog tools to help them organize vast amounts of information in a short amount of time. We contribute an account of these practices along with suggestions on how to further improve daily fantasy sports products.

A Game of Research: Information Management and Decision-making in Daily Fantasy Sports

This paper discusses the role of Financial Inclusion in a country like India and mobile banking as a means to attain it. The paper discusses the increasing penetration of mobile phones and the key considerations of use of mobile banking. The paper proposes an Interactive Voice Response (IVR) based mobile banking model in the cloud suitable for a developing country like India. The World Development Indicators show increasing penetration of mobile phones in both the developed and the developing world. This model can perform the basic formal banking operations with less dependence on external agents or business correspondents. The model assumes the availability of Internet facility in the mobile phones. IVR based models in the cloud are very rare. Most of the existing models use mobile Short Messaging Service (SMS).

A Mobile Banking Model in the Cloud for Financial Inclusion in India

Access to financial products and services is considered to be an important determinant of development, as it has been linked to poverty alleviation. Policymakers in the emerging economies design and implement various solutions to overcome barriers to financial access. Mobile phones have been highlighted as the potential means to extend financial services, especially in countries like India, where mobile penetration is high. However, gaps in digital literacy and financial literacy need to be overcome to realize the potential of mobile phones in enabling financial access. Scholars and practitioners have highlighted the role of ‘intermediaries’ who can bridge these gaps and provide the last mile connectivity between ICT initiatives and the user community. Traditionally, ‘intermediaries’ refer to the human intermediaries. We do, however, have some initiatives that use technology itself to bridge gaps related to financial literacy as well as digital literacy. For instance, user-friendly interactive systems that provide information about the use of mobile phones for payment as well as about financial products and services. In this chapter, we describe such initiatives where intermediation through both human intervention and technology was used for enabling financial access. Further, we outline potential research directions that can further illuminate the role of intermediation in enabling financial access.

Role of Intermediaries in Providing Financial Access: Current and Future Research Trends

In developing countries, education plays a very important role in maintaining the momentum of economic growth. In a country like India with a population of over a billion, one of the biggest challenges that the government faces in providing education is the provisioning and maintenance of infrastructure. The infrastructural issue can be viewed from two dimensions: on one hand, the lack of investments and on the other hand, the difficulties in maintaining such infrastructures. This article focuses on the lack of investment and suggests the use of cloud computing as a form of possible remedy. This article uses Rogers’ diffusion framework for the penetration of cloud computing in the higher education sector of India and proposes a cloud model for a higher educational institute.

Cloud Computing in Indian Higher Education

Information systems in the form of Decision Support Systems (DSS) and Expert Systems (ES) have been used for considerable years in finance, marketing, portfolio management and other fields. Most of these systems use artificial intelligence techniques. Systems have been designed to address the problem of allocating the wealth of an individual across various assets in order to maximize return subject to a certain risk. This problem is known as the investment portfolio management problem. This problem can be comprised of the investment advisory problem and the portfolio allocation problem. This paper proposes an information system for the investment advisory problem to aid the wealth managers in providing regulatory compliant investment advice. The system considers the behavioral traits of the customer and calculates his risk appetite. It then does a risk scoring and allocates the wealth of the customer proportionately in different investment asset classes. It then checks the suitability of the advisory note prepared by the wealth manager subject to a set of inbuilt rules.

Amitava Ghosh

Papers

Cloud Computing in Indian Higher Education

A Mobile Banking Model in the Cloud for Financial Inclusion in India

An information system for investment advisory process