The latest regional research was successfully completed by “Zerkalo Central Asia.” The work was aimed at understanding how ready the population of Uzbekistan is for the use of electronic banking services. The research was financed by the International Finance Corporation (IFC).
Market demand monitoring for mobile banking systems in Uzbekistan was carried out under the Electronic and Digital Financial Services Project in Uzbekistan, implemented by the IFC. The Corporation promotes private sector investments in developing countries as a means to reduce poverty and improve the living standards of the population. One component of the project focuses on improving the regulatory framework to enhance access to financing for micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises by introducing electronic and digital financial services.
Since these services are new to the country, understanding the market demand for such services is crucial when developing a business model. Therefore, a comprehensive study of the mobile banking market was necessary, focusing on potential clients’ behavior and habits regarding electronic and digital financial services.
It is worth noting that this is the third monitoring project in the region. The first was conducted in 2015 in Kyrgyzstan by the Sociological Research Center “Zerkalo,” and the second in 2016 in Tajikistan by the research and analytical company “Tahlil va Mashvarat.”
The overall goal of the research was to conduct a marketing study on the demand for mobile banking systems in Uzbekistan.
Target Group: The population residing in urban and rural areas of Uzbekistan (men and women) aged 25 to 50, living in the following cities and regions: Karakalpakstan, Andijan, Bukhara, Fergana, Jizzakh, Kashkadarya, Khorezm, Navoi, Namangan, Samarkand, Surkhandarya, Syrdarya, Tashkent, and Tashkent region.
A sample for the survey and focus group discussions was prepared based on the selected cities. The quantitative component of the sample consisted of 1,500 respondents selected using a quota method: by gender and employment. The qualitative component included 16 focus group discussions.
To ensure the quality of data collection, Z-Analytics specialists developed a monitoring system, which included several stages: — A stop-day with checks on 2-3 questionnaires from each interviewer, followed by feedback (via messengers, supervisors); — Analysis of the database using Stata and data transfer for verification by the monitoring group; — Cross-checking the data with audio recordings and returning errors to interviewers/supervisors; — Based on GPS tracks from the monitoring, supervisors made calls to respondents or conducted field monitoring in case of selection step violations.
The work was performed in partnership with the Marketing and Sociological Research Center Middle Asia Management Consulting (MAMC) of Uzbekistan.
