A comparison of financial service adoption propensity across three channels at the Bottom of the Pyramid in South Africa

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate financial exclusion at the bottom of the pyramid (BoP) in South Africa. A comparison was made of unbanked respondents’ views on three different channels-banks, the post office, and supermarkets -for the provision of financial services. An evaluation of adoption propensity was conducted by comparing four adoption-related variables, namely cost, trust, language, and how well customers are treated across the three channels. The results revealed that the post office and supermarkets have a higher propensity for adoption than banks among bottom-of-the-pyramid customers. It was concluded that supermarkets have the lowest barrier to adoption of the three channels, and are thus the most likely channel through which to expand financial inclusion for the bottom of the pyramid.