ABSTRACT
The purpose of this study was to establish the Influence of Mobile Loans Apps on Financial Inclusion of University Students. A Case of Marist International University College. The study was guided by these objectives:To determine the prevalence of adoption of mobile loan apps and financial inclusion among university students; To determine the most common use of loans obtained from mobile loan Apps and financial inclusion among university students; To establish the influence of cost of loan from mobile loan Apps on financial inclusion of university students; To investigate how default rate is affecting the financial inclusion of university students. It was also anchored on Constraint Induced Financial Innovation Theory; Financial Intermediation Theory and Technology Acceptance Model. The study used descriptive survey design and quantitative approach. The target population were students from Departments of Business, Education and Arts and Social Sciences. Through purposive method, the study selected 150 students, 50 each from the three departments. Data was collected using questionnaires and analyzed using SPPS version 26.
The study established that most students were regular users of multiple mobile loan apps and that mobile loan apps were instrumental in increasing financial inclusion among university students. The most common use of mobile loans money included emergencies, paying utility bills, buying food and paying other loans. The cost of acquiring credit from mobile loan apps was found to be expensive and prohibitive, resulting to massive defaults and creating a cycle of borrowing where students borrowed in order to repay previous loans. The study recommended that mobile lenders should make credit more accessible and affordable to enhance financial inclusion. The government should regulate the mobile lending sector to eliminate exploitation by the mobile lending companies.