THE ROLE OF MOBILE BANKING IN ENHANCING FINANCIAL INCLUSION IN SOUTH-SOUTH NIGERIA

This study examines the nexus between mobile banking adoption and commercial bank lending in SouthSouth Nigeria. Mobile banking was proxied by the number of registered banks, volume of mobile banking
transactions, mobile phone penetration, and internet penetration, while mobile bank utilization served as
a surrogate for commercial bank lending. The study population comprised 43,662,641 individuals, from
which a scientifically determined sample of 400 respondents was drawn using the Taro Yamane formula.
Primary data were elicited through a structured instrument titled Mobile Banking Financial Inclusion
Questionnaire (MBFIQ), whose internal reliability, tested via Cronbach’s Alpha, produced a coefficient
of 0.86, signifying strong econometric robustness. Anchored on Rogers Diffusion of Innovation Theory,
the econometric findings revealed that the number of registered banks and the volume of mobile banking
transactions exerted a positive and statistically significant effect on mobile bank utilization, thereby
stimulating commercial bank lending in the region. Internet penetration, though positive, exhibited no
significant impact, while mobile phone penetration showed a negative but insignificant relationship. The
study concludes that mobile banking constitutes a critical driver of financial intermediation and credit
expansion in South-South Nigeria, albeit with infrastructural and technological gaps. Consequently, it
recommends that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in collaboration with State Ministries of Finance in
the South-South region should intensify licensing of banks, strengthen digital infrastructure, and
incentivize microfinance penetration in underserved areas to enhance mobile banking adoption, promote
financial inclusion, and ultimately deepen credit availability for economic growth.