Evaluation of the Effectiveness and Awareness of Mobile Money Services among Users in Tanzania: A Case of Iris Biometric Authentication Method

Abstract

This study evaluates user perceptions of a framework proposed by Rashidi et al. [11] that uniquely combines iris biometric authentication (IRBAM) with two-factor authentication (2FA), incorporating liveness detection to enhance security in mobile money services (MMSs) in Tanzania. The IRBAM-2FA combination is novel for Tanzania’s MMS, leveraging unique iris patterns and liveness detection to enhance security over prevalent PIN-based systems vulnerable to fraud. Through a survey-based evaluation of a demo application, involving 258 respondents (204 customers, 54 agents) in Dodoma, we assessed the framework’s effectiveness in preventing unauthorized access, its convenience, and user acceptance. Findings show that 79.41% of customers are aged 18–35, suggesting a tech-savvy audience likely to embrace IRBAM-2FA, as younger individuals are typically more open to innovative technologies. Additionally, 46.1% of customers and 51.9% of agents strongly agreed that the framework enhances security, while 85.5% of customers and 71.6% of agents expressed willingness to adopt it. Low IRBAM awareness (65.2% of customers, 79.9% of agents), usability issues (20% of agents' disagreement), cost (30%), and health risks (40%), pose barriers, with future work needed on feature phone support and rural testing for inclusivity. These insights underscore the potential of IRBAM to foster trust in MMS.