Short Paper

Mobile-based branchless banking has become a key mechanism for enabling financial inclusion in the developing world. A key component of all branchless banking systems is a mechanism to provide receipts to users after each transaction as evidence for successful transaction completion. In this paper, we present results from a field study that explores user perceptions of different receipt delivery mechanisms in the context of a branchless banking system in India. Our study shows that users have an affinity for paper receipts: despite the provision of an SMS receipt functionality by the system developers and their discouragement of the use of paper, users have pro-actively initiated a practice of issuing and accepting paper receipts. Several users are aware of the security limitations of paper receipts but continue to use them because of their usability benefits. We conclude with design recommendations for receipt delivery systems in branchless banking.