Institute for Money, Technology & Financial Inclusion

The Bicol Region is among the poorest of the 17 regions in the Philippines. It was ranked fourth poorest in the first semesters of 2006 and 2009. With 34.1% of the region’s population living in poverty during the first six months of 2012, the Bicol Region has become the seventh poorest region in the country. Camarines Sur is among the poorest of the six provinces of the Bicol Region. With 33.5% of the population living in poverty in 2012, it ranked third poorest to the Masbate and Albay regions (National Statistical Coordination Board, 2013). It is in the foregoing observations that Garchitorena, one of the poorest municipalities in Camarines Sur, was chosen as the study site. This investigation will examine the variables, conditions and processes of mobile money transfer and storage among the poor fishing households in the poorest town of the Bicol Region in the Philippines. It specifically aims to: (1) describe the socio-economic profile of the selected fishing households; (2) explore the processes and nature of mobile money transactions of fishing households in their daily household and livelihood activities; (3) determine the factors that influence their engagement in mobile money transfer and storage; and (4) identify possible interventions of local policy makers and industry developers in expanding the potential of mobile money as a tool for financial inclusion of the poor fishing households.

Toward these ends, the research identified the socio-economic variables that influence the engagement of poor fishing households in mobile money transfer technology. Positive variables include the level of education attained by fishing household heads, the level of household income, the size of the fishing households, and the amount of household expenses. Possible interventions suggested by the study were the expansion of network coverage by telecommunications corporations; infrastructure support from the local government as well as security and safety protocols for these infrastructures; inclusion of mobile money services in the basic services provided by local government at the barangay (village) level; and raising the ceiling-amount of mobile money transactions.

In sum, the study suggests that through an understanding of the link between the households’ socio-economic condition and their participation in mobile money, the forms of value storage and exchange media that have the potential to be transformative in their lives can be identified and implemented.