INFORMS Open Forum

The hidden cost of crime: Tanzanians pay as much as 7% to protect money from theft

  • 1.  The hidden cost of crime: Tanzanians pay as much as 7% to protect money from theft

    Posted 11-13-2017 11:08
    "Mobile money," a checking account attached to a mobile phone number, has revolutionized the financial lives of millions of people in many developing countries without access to a banking infrastructure. Using text messages or apps on consumer phones and in partnership with mom-and-pop retailers, who serve as cash-in and cash-out points, telecom companies have created an accessible and cost-effective virtual banking infrastructure in many developing countries. 

    While sending money to others is often seen as the primary value arising from mobile money, a forthcoming study in the INFORMS journal Marketing Science, a leading scholarly marketing publication, shows that in developing countries, mobile money provides another important source of value - a form of theft insurance by protecting cash from street robberies and stealing by relatives or burglars at home. 

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    Ashley Kilgore
    Manager, Public Relations
    INFORMS
    Catonsville MD
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