Institute for Money, Technology & Financial Inclusion

Field notes blogpost for the project: Storing and Transferring Money in a Cash-Strapped Fishing Municipality in the Bicol Region, PI Bernadette Gavino-Gumba. https://www.imtfi.uci.edu/research/2014/gavinogumba.php.

Abstract - The Bicol Region is among the poorest of the 17 regions in the Philippines. It was ranked fourth poorest in the first semesters of 2006 and 2009. With 34.1% of the region’s population living in poverty during the first six months of 2012, the Bicol Region has become the seventh poorest region in the country. Camarines Sur is among the poorest of the six provinces of the Bicol Region. With 33.5% of the population living in poverty in 2012, it ranked third poorest to the Masbate and Albay regions (National Statistical Coordination Board, 2013). It is in the foregoing observations that Garchitorena, one of the poorest municipalities in Camarines Sur, was chosen as the study site. This investigation will examine the variables, conditions and processes of mobile money transfer and storage among the poor fishing households in the poorest town of the Bicol Region in the Philippines. It specifically aims to: (1) describe the socio-economic profile of the selected fishing households; (2) explore the processes and nature of mobile money transactions of fishing households in their daily household and livelihood activities; (3) determine the factors that influence their engagement in mobile money transfer and storage; and (4) identify possible interventions of local policy makers and industry developers in expanding the potential of mobile money as a tool for financial inclusion of the poor fishing households.