To develop a mobile application that will enable interoperability of mobile money services for illiterate users in Zambia

This research presents the design and development of a mobile money solution that targets illiterate people, applying user-centered requirements gathered in a Zambian context. Existing mobile money platforms have text-based interfaces and target literate people. Illiterate people, without the assistance of literate individuals, cannot use such platforms. Emphasis is given to how illiterate users deal with hard cash in their everyday life and how such practices can be mapped into financial technology design. Given the ubiquity of mobile telephony the solution in this paper is based on the widely available, relatively inexpensive, and open-source Android mobile platforms. Results of the proposed system show that illiterate individuals can now count money bills, while providing the facility to accept and make payments. In doing so, the mobile application provides an example of how a pervasive technology can empower a hitherto often neglected user category of illiterate users in Zambia