CHITI, Mwatula2025-09-232025https://research.unilus.ac.zm/handle/123456789/602Master of Business Administration in Banking and Finance - DissertationTransaction costs have been a significant barrier to the up-take and use of formal financial services in Africa (Dupas and Robinson 2013). In an attempt to improve financial inclusion and enhance the availability of alternative methods of financial services, a number of innovations such as mobile money have surfaced that are meant to reduce lower operational costs and enable the provision of affordable financial services (World Bank Group, 2013). However, this is not the case, particularly in Zambia. Instead, bank charges are seen to be lower than those of mobile money. For instance, sending money from one mobile money account to another within the same MNO has a cost of approximately 0.05%. Similarly withdraw charges on mobile money are 200% more than those of banks and cross network changes equally higher than interbank charges. Hence the purpose of this research was to analyze consumer preference between mobile money and traditional banking services. This study adopted a qualitative approach, and respondents were selected using non-probability sampling and data was collected from 60 respondents in Kabwata, Lusaka, Zambia. Primary data was collected using semi structured interviews, whereas secondary data was collected through an extensive literature review in the field of financial inclusion. The study indicated that all participants had a mobile money account, whereas only 30% had a bank account. The majority (97%) utilized their mobile money accounts and the most popular use was money transfers. It was concluded that individuals prefer to use mobile money despite the higher transaction charges compared to bank services because of the convenience that mobile money services offer. To the individuals transacting, the benefits that come with mobile money outweigh the costs. Furthermore, the findings reveal that although mobile money has been effective at increasing financial inclusion, it has not effectively reduced the cost of transacting; therefore, the major selling point of mobile money is convenience rather than affordability. Keywords: Financial Inclusion, Mobile Money, BankingenThesis