Use of Financial Services over Time in Uganda

This paper examines clients' use of financial services in Uganda over a twelve-year period. The study uses the following methods:

• A time series analysis-based "MFI Use over Time" tool;
• Interviews with clients to discuss the evolution of their use of financial services over this period.

The key results of the study are:

• Clients use:
  • "Rotating Savings and Credit Associations" (ROSCAs) and " Accumulating Savings and Credit Associations"a (ASCAs);
  • Multiple financial institutions.
• Clients seek:
  • Products and service delivery methodologies that meet their needs;
  • Good customer care and friendly staff;
  • Financial institutions that serve them quickly, both over the counter, and in terms of loan processing time;
  • Institutions with good premises and security guards to deposit money in;
  • Individual loan products, rather than the group-based methods;
  • Lower charges in financial institutions;
  • Transparency in all financial dealings.

The study concludes with the statement that clients look for ease of access to savings when they join a particular institution, and use informal institutions like ROSCAs and ASCAs to build lump sums.