Financial literacy and trust in mobile money services on mobile money savings adoption among informal sector workers in Ghana: the mediating role of perceived ease of use

Abstract

• First Holistic Examination: Pioneering study investigating the interplay of financial literacy, trust in mobile money, and perceived ease of use (PEU) on mobile savings adoption (MSAD) within Ghana's large informal sector. • Significant Direct Drivers: Financial literacy, trust in mobile money services, and perceived ease of use (PEU) all exhibit statistically significant positive direct effects on mobile money savings adoption among informal workers. • Critical Mediating Role: Perceived ease of use (PEU) acts as a significant mediator, channelling the positive influences of both financial literacy and trust in mobile money services onto mobile savings adoption behaviour. • Gender Matters, Not Income/Education: Gender (specifically being male) significantly positively influences MSAD, while surprisingly, education level and income were found to be statistically non-significant predictors in this context. • Practical Insights for Inclusion: Findings offer crucial evidence for designing user-centric mobile savings solutions targeting financially underserved informal sector populations in Sub-Saharan Africa, emphasizing trust-building, ease of use, and literacy. In developing economies like Ghana, mobile money services are rapidly transforming financial inclusion, yet the consistent use of such platforms for savings remains limited among informal sector workers. This study investigates the roles of financial literacy, trust in mobile money services, and perceived ease of use in shaping mobile money savings adoption (MSAD), with a focus on the mediating influence of perceived ease of use (PEU). Drawing on the Technology Acceptance Model and trust theory, data were collected from 3424 informal sector participants and analysed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM). The findings reveal that financial literacy, trust in mobile money services, and perceived ease of use all have statistically significant and positive effects on mobile money savings adoption. Furthermore, PEU significantly mediates the effects of trust and financial literacy on MSAD. Among control variables, gender was found to have a significant positive influence, whereas education and income were not statistically significant predictors. This study is among the first to holistically examine how trust and financial literacy interact through ease of use to influence mobile savings behaviour in an informal economy. The insights offer novel theoretical contributions to digital financial behaviour literature and inform the design of user-centric savings solutions for financially underserved populations in Sub-Saharan Africa.