Profitability in light of the digitalization of banking services in Cameroon
mobile banking, an asset or a liability?
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.59051/joaf.v17i1.989Keywords:
digitalisation, banque mobile, rentabilité, CamerounAbstract
Purpose: The objective of this paper is to determine the nature of the effect of mobile banking services on the profitability of Cameroonian commercial banks.Methodology: The data comes from the Central African Banking Commission's (COBAC) system for collecting, processing, and reporting regulatory statements to banks (CERBER, 2025). The study covers the period from 2017 to 2024 and focuses on eight commercial banks. Two equations from a multiple regression model inspired by the work of Ndzie (2022) are estimated using the Generalized Least Squares method.
Results: Mobile banking services have a positive and significant effect on returns on assets (ROA) and returns on equity (ROE).
Originality/relevance: The study confirms the importance of digitizing banking products through mobile banking services, a result of recent innovations in information and communication technologies in Cameroon. Furthermore, unlike previous studies which employ a cross-sectional or longitudinal analysis, this study uses panel data from Cameroonian commercial banks selected based on their age and performance. Moreover, the significantly positive results obtained complement those of Ndzie (2022), which showed a non-significant effect of mobile banking on bank profitability in the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC).
Downloads
References
Abong’o, D., 2016, Effect of mobile phone banking on performance of commercial banks in Kenya, Unpublished Thesis, Kenya College of Accountancy and Finance.
Ajzen, I., 1991, “The theory of planned behavior”, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50(2), pp. 179–211.
Attaran, M., Attaran, S. and Kirklet, D., 2019, “Technology and Organizational Change: Harnessing the Power of Digital Workplace”. 10.4018/978-1-5225-8933-4.
Bagudu, I., Khan, A. U. and Abdul-Hakim, R., 2017, “Impact of mobile banking on the efficiency of Nigeria’s commercial banks”, Journal of Internet Banking and Commerce, 22(3), pp. 1-18.
Banque des Etats de l’Afrique Centrale, 2023, « Rapport sur l’Etat des systèmes de paiement par monnaie électronique dans la CEMAC-2023 ».
Barua, A., Kriebel, H. C. and Mukhopadhyay, T., 1995, “Informations technologies and business value: an analytic and empirical investigation”, In Information Systems Research, 6, 1, pp. 3-23.
Bidiasse, H. et Mvogo, G., P., 2019, « Les déterminants de l’adoption du mobile money : l’importance des facteurs spécifiques au Cameroun », Revue d'économie industrielle, 165 | 2019, pp. 85-115.
Charreaux, G., 1991, « Structure de propriété, relation d'agence et performance financière », Revue économique, 1991/3, n°42, pp. 521-552.
Daghfous, N. et Elissar, T., 2006, « L’impact de l’adoption de E-banking sur la performance commerciale des banques : cas du marché Libanais », ESG-UQAM.
Daniyan-Bagudu, H., Mohd-Khan S. J., and Roslan A-H., 2016, “The effect of mobile banking on the performance of commercial banks in Nigeria”, International Research Journal of Management, IT & Social Sciences, vol 4, march 2017, pp. 71-76.
Davis, F. D., 1989, “Perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and user acceptance of information technology”, MIS Quarterly, 13(3), pp. 319-340.
Deltour, F., 2014, « Innovation et performance : une approche par la contribution des technologies de l’information », XXIII Conférence Internationale de Management Stratégique, Rennes, 26-28 mai.
Djoum, K. S., Goufan M. P. W. et Mbatchou, A. Y., 2020, « Mobile banking et performance des banques au Cameroun », Revue d’Etudes en Management et Finance d’Organisation, n° 11, juin 2020.
El Kharti, L., 2016, “The determinants of financial performance of microfinance institutions in Morocco: A panel data analysis”.
Fambeu, A. H., 2017, "L'adoption des TIC dans un pays en développement", Revue d'économie industrielle, De Boeck Université, vol. 0(1), pp. 61-101.
Fishbein, M. and Ajzen, I., 1975, “Belief, Attitude, Intention, and Behavior: An Introduction to Theory and Research”, Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
Hanafizadeh, P., Keating, B. and Khedmatgozar, H. R., 2014, “A Systematic Review of Internet Banking Adoption”, Telematics and Informatics, 31, pp. 492-510.
Harelimana, J. B., 2017, “Impact of mobile banking on financial performance of Unguka Microfinance bank Ltd”, Rwanda. Global Journal of Management and Business Research.
IFC, 2015, « Services financiers numériques et gestion des risques », n° ISBN : 978-0-620-715.6-5.
Lawin, G., 2006, Analyse des déterminants de l’adoption et de la diffusion du dispositif amélioré d’étuvage du riz dans la commune de Glazoue, Diplôme d’Ingénieur Agronome, option Economie, Socio-Anthropologie et Communication, Université d’Abomey-Calavi.
Limayem, M., Poisson, M. A., and Dhrif, H., 1998, “Impact of Internet use on organizational performance”, FSA working document, University of Laval 8.
Mabwai, F., 2016, “Effect of mobile banking on the financial performance of commercial banks in Kenya”, Project submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the award of degree on Master of Business Administration, School of Business, University of Nairobi.
Michel, S., 2011, Contribution à l’évaluation du système d’information bancaire. Thèse de doctorat en sciences de gestion. Université Montesquieu – Bordeaux IV, décembre 2011.
Mohamed, H., 2019, “Effect of mobile banking on the financial performance of commercial banks in Kenya”, Project report submitted for the degree of Master of Business Administration, septembre 2019, United States International University-Africa
Moufakkir, M., et Qmichchou, M., 2020, « L’innovation dans l’industrie bancaire et financière : Une revue de littérature », Revue Internationale d’Economie Numérique, 2(1), pp. 01-20.
Moumtaz, K. et Moudine, C., 2024, « Contribution de la Digitalisation à l’Amélioration de la Performance Bancaire : Une Synthèse des Travaux de Recherche », African Scientific Journal, 3(26), 1317, https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14172877.
Ndzie, F., 2022, Mobile banking et performance des banques commerciales en zone CEMAC, Thèse pour le Doctorat en Sciences de Gestion présentée et soutenue en 2022, Université Omar Bongo.
Ngendakumana, L., 2024, Influence du mobile banking sur les performances des banques commerciales au Burundi, Mémoire pour le Master en Sciences de Gestion présentée et soutenue en 2024, Université du Burundi.
Ngono, J. F. L., 2020, « L’indice d’inclusion financière à l’heure du mobile money », Journal of Academic Finance, vol 11, n°1, pp. 33-44, juin 2020.
Ogutu, M., 2018, “Effect of e-banking on financial performance of listed commercial banks in Kenya”, Project submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the award of Master of Science degree in commerce, in the School of Business and Public Management at KCA University.
Orlikowski, W. J. and Baroudi, J. J., 1991, “Studying information technology in organizations: Research approaches and assumptions”. Information systems research.
Osiolo, B. R. et Antony, S., 2023, “Effect of mobile banking on performance of commercial banks in Kenya”, International Journal of Social Science and Humanities Research, Vol. 11, Issue 3, pp. 182 189, Month: July - September 2023.
Parsons, G. L., 1983, « Information technology : a new weapon », Sloan Management Review, 25, 1, pp. 3-13.
Sevestre, P., 2002, Econométrie des données de panel, Dunod, Paris, France.
Shaikh, A. A. and Karjaluoto, H., 2016, “The effects of mobile banking application user satisfaction and system usage on bank-customer relationships”, In Academic MindTrek’16: Proceedings of the 20th International Academic MindTrek Conference, pp. 177-183.
Tavitiyaman, P., Zhang, H. Q. and Qu, H., 2012, “The effect of competitive strategies and organizational structure on hotel performance”, International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management.
Turihamwe, A., 2014,”Mobile banking and financial performance of commercial banks of Uganda: Case study standard Chartered Bank Limited Mbarara branch”, Report submitted for the requirements for the degree in Business Administration of Bishop Stuart University, may 2014.
Zahra, S. A., 2008, “The virtuous cycle of discovery and creation of entrepreneurial opportunities”, Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, 2(3), pp. 243-257.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 patrick geoffroy Nkwenka Nyanda
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
