Mobile Financial Services Adoption Among Microfinance Clients in Urban and Rural Areas of Bangladesh

Mobile financial services (MFS) offer significant potential to expand access to microfinance and promote financial inclusion in low-and middle-income countries. Yet, little is known about the factors driving MFS adoption among microfinance clients, especially in contexts where significant urban-rural differences exist in these countries. To address this issue, we conduct questionnaire surveys with microfinance clients in urban and rural areas of Bangladesh following an extended technology acceptance model. Structural equation modelling shows that while urban-rural differences do not directly affect intention to use MFS, they have the strongest indirect impact by influencing perceived ease of use, reciprocity, trust, and facilitating conditions linked to adoption intention. Besides, perceived usefulness, ease of use, trust, and facilitating conditions significantly predict adoption intention, wherein the facilitating condition is the strongest predictor. Results suggest that policies for mobile financial service adoption in microfinance should be tailored to the urban-rural context, focusing on its indirect effects on perceived ease of use, reciprocity, trust, and facilitating conditions rather than direct geographic effects.