MOBILE BANKING SERVICES AND FINANCIAL INCLUSION IN TAITA TAVETA COUNTY KENYA

Purpose: The study sought to assess the impact of mobile banking services and financial inclusion in Taita Taveta County Kenya. The study's goal was to analyze the impact of account information access, transactional, investment, and support services on financial inclusion in Taita Taveta County. Methodology: The study used the Technology Acceptance Model, Diffusion of Innovation, Financial Intermediation, and Silber's Constraint Theory of Innovation. The study used a descriptive research approach. According to the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning's 2020 report, the target population comprises all 11,386 licensed businesses in Taita Taveta county. The study's sample will be gathered from companies and other stakeholders through a stratified random sampling approach as well as convenience sampling. To collect primary data, semi-structured questionnaires will be employed, which will be presented in person. The data was analyzed using SPSS Version 23.0. Findings: According to the study results, the vast majority of respondents were aware of financial inclusion. The study discovered a positive and statistically significant association between access to account information and financial inclusion of registered firms in Taita Taveta County (r = 0.341, p 0.05). This implied that greater access to account information would lead to greater financial inclusion of firms in Taita Taveta County. The study also discovered a favorable and statistically significant association between mobile transactional services and business financial inclusion in Taita Taveta County (r = 0.426, p 0.05). As a result, a rise in mobile transactional services will result in greater financial inclusion of the county's businesses. The data also revealed a favorable and significant link between financial investment mobile services and business financial inclusion in Taita Taveta County (r = 0.512, p 0.05). In Taita Taveta County, there was likewise a positive and significant link between financial assistance mobile services and business financial inclusion (r =.755, p.01). From the study, the researcher concluded that more customers are attracted by the option of getting loans from banks through the phone. Further, more customers were attracted to paperless banking as it eased their record keeping practices on bank transactions. Unique contribution to theory, practice and policy: The researcher recommended that banks need to establish proper policies that will help them improve on financial inclusion in the rural places in Kenya.