ISO Certification and Technical Efficiency in the Banking Sector:An Evidence from WAEMU’s Countries Using the DEA Method

In the view of the international organization of standardization,the introduction of ISO standards is typical of quality management systems oriented towards strengthening the efficiency of enterprises.Business banks are not excluded from this requirement.The current study aims to evaluate the effect of ISO certification on the technical performance of WAEMU banks.Using BCEAO data(2020),the DEA model and Tobit estimates show that ISO certification has no effect on the efficiency scores of the banks in the sample.It is therefore appropriate for these banks to work on improving their business climate.

A study of the factors affecting mobile money penetration rates in the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) compared with East Africa

According to the 2017 Global Financial Inclusion(Global Findex)database,the average penetration rate of mobile money accounts in East Africa is higher than that of the WAEMU.This study attempts to understand the factors driving the adoption and the use of mobile financial services in the WAEMU compared to East Africa.To achieve this,micro-level data from the 2017 Global Findex database are used to perform probit and multinomial logit estimations.The findings reveal that the same determinants influence the adoption and use of mobile money accounts across the populations of both groups of countries,specifically those related to the least vulnerable social categories(i.e.,males,older,more educated,richer and part of the workforce).Therefore,in comparison to East Africa,the delay in the penetration of mobile money accounts observed in the WAEMU may be attributed to insufficient policies for increasing the awareness of the benefits of mobile financial services.The study recommends that governments in WAEMU countries promote the use of mobile money accounts among the working-age population(adults aged between 25 and 64)through the improvement of individual income level,and the introduction of incentives into the education system to encourage their population to attain higher levels of education.

The Fintech Revolution: An Opportunity for the West African Financial Sector

Fintech provides alternative solutions and business models that could render traditional banking processes obsolete. This paper assesses the opportunity that could be taken to West Africa by using Fintech’s financial system. It describes the current West African financial sector, the way of digitization settlement, and lastly, the financial market segments of Fintech. Financial sector creates a massive amount of data exploiting by Fintech companies that are using to segment customer populations, identify opportunities for new products and services and optimize pricing. In this segment, products may use data and analytics to computerize the decision- making processes. Innovative start-ups, retailers, established banks, card companies and other payment services providers are the Payment systems that underpin the services that enable funds to be transferred between people and institutions. For the financial system (banking), Fintech offers sustainable and realistic opportunities by enhancing the value proposition and driving sales, reducing operating costs, making easy access to loans, and lowering interest rates. After showing the advantages of using Fintech services, the findings are that Fintech could improve both financial services and access to services in the West African economy.