Drake Patrick Mirembe (PhD)

ICT& Management Consultant, Innovations & Cyber Security Specialist, Data Scientist, Business & Technology Entrepreneur, Christian & Farmer

Evolution of mobile payment systems and level of security awareness among mobile money users in Uganda

The Authors:

Job Matovu, Drake Patrick Mirembe and Odongo Steven Eyobu

Publication Type: Journal Paper

Year of Publication: 2021

Abstract

This study investigates the evolution of mobile payment systems, desired security requirements and the level of security awareness and practices among mobile money users in Uganda. Through a mix-research approach for data collection and analysis methods, 465 participants responded to the study (460 mobile money users and five cyber security experts). The study revealed that: 1) about 45% of mobile money end customers share personal identification number (PIN) compared to 29% of the agents; 2) majority of mobile money users do not have formal training in cyber security thus lack necessary knowledge and skills to protect their information and transactions; 3) the level of education of mobile money users directly proportional to improved security practices and behaviours. The authentication protocol on withdraw transaction is very weak. The study proposes a role-based security enhancement framework for users of the mobile money system to mitigate these security concerns.