Financial Inclusion and Confidence

Last registered on September 15, 2023
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Financial Inclusion and Confidence
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0010393
Initial registration date
November 11, 2022

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
November 17, 2022, 3:25 PM EST

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Last updated
September 15, 2023, 9:13 AM EDT

Last updated is the most recent time when changes to the trial's registration were published.

Locations

Country
India
Region
Uttar Pradesh

Primary Investigator

Name
Sneha Shashidhara
Affiliation
CSBC
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Aditya Laumas
PI Affiliation
CBSC
PI Name
Bijoyetri Samaddar
PI Affiliation
CSBC
PI Name
Pooja Haldea
PI Affiliation
CSBC
PI Name
Pavan Mamidi
PI Affiliation
CSBC
Contact Investigator

Additional Trial Information

Status
Completed
Start date
2022-11-11
End date
2022-12-31
Keywords
Education, Finance & Microfinance
Additional Keywords
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
Financial inclusion is the availability of financial resources, including transactions, payments, savings, credit and insurance, and equal opportunities to access these financial services. However, despite the growing usage of digital payments, many people in India continue to prefer cash-based transactions due to various factors, one of which is likely the low confidence level in navigating the payment apps or the smartphone itself. Here, in a lab-in-the-field experiment, we plan to test simple video interventions targeted at smartphone users to perform a QR code transaction. They are asked to practise the transaction while watching the video to learn the task step-by-step.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Haldea, Pooja et al. 2023. "Financial Inclusion and Confidence." AEA RCT Registry. September 15. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.10393-2.0
Sponsors & Partners

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Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
We designed interventions that we hypothesised would increase successful learning of QR code transactions. Our main objectives for the interventions are:
The process is explained clearly by a relatable person.
Videos have instructions to pause in the middle and practice the task alongside, breaking the task into manageable steps and allowing for practice.
Videos provide additional information on handling contingencies and other trust and confidence-building messages.
Intervention Start Date
2022-11-11
Intervention End Date
2022-12-31

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Task completion, highest completed step
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Confidence, trust
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
The BL and EL surveys will be conducted via an in-person setup, with on-ground enumerators administering the survey on tablets. Intervention, i.e. showing the videos and practising alongside, will happen in person on the day of the baseline. In the case of the treatment arms, the videos are shown twice where. The first time participants are just watching, and the second time they practise alongside. In the Control arm, they watch the video once without practice. In all arms, they are asked to do the transaction independently at the end of the intervention on the day of baseline (immediate outcome measure). At Endline, they again perform the transaction without seeing the video (outcome measure after a delay) and answer a few questions.
Experimental Design Details
This evaluation will have the following components:
Baseline: This will be conducted by enumerators in person with tablets.
Treatment: Videos on performing QR code transactions
Treatment A: Watch the video on QR code transactions two times. The second time was watching it with pausing and practising alongside.
Treatment B: Watch the video on QR code transactions two times. The second time was watching it with pausing and practising alongside. This video has additional tips, motivational and confidence-inspiring messages, and some content on grievance redressal.
Control: Watch the video on QR code transaction two once.
Immediate Outcomes: Perform the QR code transaction without help immediately after watching the videos
Endline: This will be conducted in the same format as the baseline.
Randomization Method
Randomization at the individual level
Randomization Unit
individual
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
0 clusters
Sample size: planned number of observations
300 people
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
100 per arm
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
With 100 per group and a 74% completion rate in the control group, we can detect a relative improvement of 20%.
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Ashoka Institutional Review Board (IRB)
IRB Approval Date
2022-08-27
IRB Approval Number
22-X-10002-Bijoyetri Samaddar
Analysis Plan

Analysis Plan Documents

Financial Inclusion and Confidence

MD5: 787d8cffce15d6f14fbd6b855af7bf33

SHA1: a82d3eacb4a03e2e41a4a6685af48368934d31d9

Uploaded At: November 11, 2022

Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

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Intervention

Is the intervention completed?
Yes
Intervention Completion Date
December 31, 2022, 12:00 +00:00
Data Collection Complete
Yes
Data Collection Completion Date
December 31, 2022, 12:00 +00:00
Final Sample Size: Number of Clusters (Unit of Randomization)
438 participants
Was attrition correlated with treatment status?
No
Final Sample Size: Total Number of Observations
438 participants
Final Sample Size (or Number of Clusters) by Treatment Arms
168 T1, 126 T2, 144 Control
Data Publication

Data Publication

Is public data available?
No

Program Files

Program Files
No
Reports, Papers & Other Materials

Relevant Paper(s)

Reports & Other Materials

Description
Results Report
Citation
Haldea, Pooja et al. 2023. "Financial Inclusion and Confidence." AEA RCT Registry. September 15. 2023. "Registration Entry Title: Results Report." AEA RCT Registry. September 15 https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.10393-2.0
File
Report_FI-Confidence-and-QR-Code-Experiment.pdf

MD5:

SHA1:

Uploaded At: September 15, 2023