Most customers mainly use cash while transacting with MSEs, the FinAccess Micro and Small Enterprises (MSE) Tracker Survey August 2023 shows. The Survey findings indicate that the use of cash as a mode of payment by customers was dominant at 98.5 percent. “The proportion of businesses which accepts payments from customers through mobile money increased from 68.2 percent in October 2022 to 76.4 percent in June 2023,” states the survey.
The proportion of businesses that accept payment using mobile money till numbers increased from 15.2 percent to 18.4 percent over the same period. However, the use of paybill among MSEs declined slightly from 6.4 percent in October 2022 to 5.9 percent in June 2023, partly due to the reinstatement of pay bill charges in January 2023.
Digitalization of business enterprises plays a critical role in improving operational efficiency, the safety of stock and sales and eases decision making. Further, it eases access to business records which facilitate better information exchange for purposes of audit, tax assessment and credit scoring by financial institutions. The survey findings indicate that the proportion of MSEs that use digital channels increased including the use of mobile money (Send money, till numbers, paybill numbers, and pochi la biashara), use of digital bank transfers (EFT, SWIFT, Pesalink), Credit and Debit cards.
MSEs using at least one digital channel in business transactions increased from 73.5 percent in October 2022 to 85.6 percent in June 2023. Digitalization was higher for female-owned, urban and owner-operated compared to male-owned, rural businesses and businesses with 1-9 employees.
