Drivers of digital financial services inactivity in Côte d’Ivoire

Côte d’Ivoire is the largest Digital Financial Services market in the West African Economic and Monetary Union. In 2014, Côte d’Ivoire accounted for over 50 percent of the value deposited into mobile money accounts in the region. However, in common with many markets across the globe, Côte d’Ivoire has a high level of inactive DFS accounts that have not been used for over 90 days. While there are wide differences between providers, data indicates that even under the best case scenario almost 50 percent of the total number of registered DFS clients are inactive. In order to sharpen the DFS business case and to further financial inclusion, it is important to understand why the services on offer are not being widely used by registered customers. Is it a matter of pricing? Could it be product design? Does it have to do with concerns around security? Or is it an issue of customer care? This paper by the IFC explores the issue and can be downloaded in English or French.