{"query_echo":{"q":"","filters":{"analysis_type":["mystery shopping"]},"warnings":[{"code":"facet_value_not_in_vocabulary","message":"Value 'mystery shopping' for facet 'analysis_type' is not in the controlled vocabulary."}]},"total":{"value":2,"relation":"eq"},"page":1,"page_size":20,"self":"https://climateinsightsdirectory.org/api/v1/search?analysis_type=mystery+shopping","stability":"beta","ai_marking":{"digital_source_type":{"uri":"http://cv.iptc.org/newscodes/digitalsourcetype/trainedAlgorithmicMedia","name":"Created using Generative AI"},"notice":"Summary and key insights are generated using artificial intelligence."},"results":[{"id":"fsdafri-000189","url":"https://climateinsightsdirectory.org/document/fsdafri-000189","title":"Mystery shopping assessment of credit cost disclosures","publisher":{"name":"FSD Africa","organization":"fsd-africa"},"document_type":"report","language":"en","date_published":"2020-05","source_url":"https://fsdafrica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/IPA-Report-08.05.20.pdf","generator":"Climate Insights Directory","generated_fields":["summary","key_insights","climate_tags","geography_discussed","analysis_type"],"summary":{"text":"A mystery shopping study of 1,102 visits to financial institutions in Kampala, Mbarara, and Gulu reveals significant gaps in the disclosure of the total cost of credit and interest rates in Uganda. The report finds that inexperienced borrowers and women receive substantially less information than experienced male borrowers, and that written disclosure materials, such as key facts documents, are rarely provided. Analysis of Bank of Uganda data also indicates a steady increase in the number of non-interest fees charged to borrowers since 2005.","ai_generated":true,"unit":"fsdafri-000189#summary","date_modified":"2026-10-23"},"key_insights":[{"text":"Loan officers failed to consistently provide information on the total cost of credit, mentioning or explaining it in only about 50% of visits. Tier 1 institutions were the least likely to disclose this information, doing so in only 41% of visits.","ai_generated":true,"unit":"fsdafri-000189#insight-1","date_modified":"2026-10-23"},{"text":"There is a significant information gap based on borrower experience; only 12% of inexperienced shoppers were informed of the total cost of credit, compared to 68% of experienced shoppers. Similarly, 98% of experienced shoppers received interest rate information, while only 69% of inexperienced shoppers did.","ai_generated":true,"unit":"fsdafri-000189#insight-2","date_modified":"2026-10-23"},{"text":"Gender-based disparities exist in the spontaneous provision of cost information. Only 29% of women were spontaneously given the total cost of credit compared to 41% of men, and only 28% of women were spontaneously given interest rate information compared to 59% of men.","ai_generated":true,"unit":"fsdafri-000189#insight-3","date_modified":"2026-10-23"},{"text":"Compliance with requirements for written documentation is very low. Key facts documents were shown in only 6% of first visits, and payment plans were shown in only 12% of visits.","ai_generated":true,"unit":"fsdafri-000189#insight-4","date_modified":"2026-10-23"},{"text":"Promotional leaflets often fail to meet Bank of Uganda guidelines; fewer than 40% of collected leaflets stated interest rates, and none of the leaflets that included both interest rates and total cost of credit displayed the total cost more prominently.","ai_generated":true,"unit":"fsdafri-000189#insight-5","date_modified":"2026-10-23"},{"text":"The number of non-interest fees charged by commercial banks has increased significantly over time, rising from just over two additional charges per loan in 2005 to more than four per loan in 2019.","ai_generated":true,"unit":"fsdafri-000189#insight-6","date_modified":"2026-10-23"},{"text":"There is a lack of standardization in fee naming, with different institutions using different names for the same charges, such as using both \"application fees\" and \"processing fees\" for the same purpose.","ai_generated":true,"unit":"fsdafri-000189#insight-7","date_modified":"2026-10-23"},{"text":"Information regarding penalties for late payments was provided in only 39% of visits, despite 96% of the institutions studied actually charging such penalties.","ai_generated":true,"unit":"fsdafri-000189#insight-8","date_modified":"2026-10-23"},{"text":"Many institutions, particularly Tier 4, use flat balance interest calculations despite regulatory requirements from the Uganda Microfinance Regulatory Authority (UMRA) to use a declining balance method.","ai_generated":true,"unit":"fsdafri-000189#insight-9","date_modified":"2026-10-23"}],"climate_tags":["microfinance"],"geography_discussed":["Kampala","Mbarara City","Gulu City"],"frame_perspective":[],"analysis_type":["mystery shopping","quantitative analysis of regulatory data"]},{"id":"fsdafri-000190","url":"https://climateinsightsdirectory.org/document/fsdafri-000190","title":"Policy Brief: Mystery shopping assessment of credit cost disclosures in Uganda","publisher":{"name":"FSD Africa","organization":"fsd-africa"},"document_type":"policy brief","language":"en","date_published":"2020-05","source_url":"https://fsdafrica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/IPA-report-summary-08.05.20.pdf","generator":"Climate Insights Directory","generated_fields":["summary","key_insights","climate_tags","geography_discussed","analysis_type"],"summary":{"text":"The document reports on a mystery shopping exercise conducted by Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) in Kampala, Mbarara, and Gulu to evaluate how loan officers disclose interest rates, fees, and the total cost of credit. It finds significant gaps in disclosure, particularly for inexperienced borrowers and women, and notes that regulatory requirements for Key Facts Documents (KfDs) and total cost disclosures are frequently ignored. The brief recommends improving staff training, standardizing KfD formats, expanding cooling-off periods for smaller loans, and harmonizing consumer protection policies between the Bank of Uganda (BoU) and the Uganda Microfinance Regulatory Authority (UMRA).","ai_generated":true,"unit":"fsdafri-000190#summary","date_modified":"2026-10-23"},"key_insights":[{"text":"Loan officers frequently failed to disclose the total cost of credit, despite it being a regulatory requirement and most officers being familiar with the concept. Only 50% of shoppers received this information, and it was provided spontaneously in only 36% of cases where it was mentioned.","ai_generated":true,"unit":"fsdafri-000190#insight-1","date_modified":"2026-10-23"},{"text":"There is a significant disparity in information disclosure based on the borrower's perceived experience and gender. Experienced shoppers were more likely to receive interest rate information (98%) than inexperienced ones (69%). Women were less likely than men to be spontaneously provided with the total cost of credit (29% vs 41%) and interest rates (28% vs 59%), and were significantly less likely to receive explanations on how these costs were calculated.","ai_generated":true,"unit":"fsdafri-000190#insight-2","date_modified":"2026-10-23"},{"text":"Non-interest fees have increased from just over 2 per loan in 2005 to more than 4 per loan in 2019, but these are poorly disclosed. Experienced shoppers were told about more fees (average 3.58) than inexperienced shoppers (average 2.97), with insurance (59%) and application fees (60%) being the most mentioned.","ai_generated":true,"unit":"fsdafri-000190#insight-3","date_modified":"2026-10-23"},{"text":"Compliance with requirements for providing Key Facts Documents (KfDs) and payment plans is very low. A KfD was shown in only 5.9% of loan visits, and a payment plan in only 10%. Additionally, less than 40% of collected promotional materials stated an interest rate, and very few stated the total cost of credit.","ai_generated":true,"unit":"fsdafri-000190#insight-4","date_modified":"2026-10-23"}],"climate_tags":["microfinance"],"geography_discussed":["Kampala","Mbarara City","Gulu City"],"frame_perspective":[],"analysis_type":["mystery shopping","policy analysis"]}]}