Tony Matchaba-Hove, Xolile Antoni, Mbunwe Belter Giwe
Financial inclusion provides recourse for consumers who do not have access to affordable basic financial products and services. Low-income and under-banked consumers face a myriad of factors that may prevent them from having effective access and use of banking products and services. The primary objective of this article was to investigate the factors affecting the use of banking products and services by low-income and under-banked consumers. A quantitative research approach was followed. A non-probability sample of 400 respondents was surveyed using self-administered questionnaires, yielding 307 usable questionnaires. An exploratory factor analysis was carried out to determine validity, and Cronbach’s alpha coefficients were calculated to determine reliability. Descriptive statistics were calculated to summarise the sample data, and the hypothesised relationships were assessed by means of a multiple regression analysis. The results revealed that of the five factors under investigation, two were found to be have a significant positive influence on the use of banking products and services, namely Financial awareness and Appropriateness. Based on the empirical results, recommendations were made to help improve the banking institutions’ ways of attracting and retaining low-income and under-banked consumers to use their products and services effectively.