Sophia T. Anong
College of Family and Consumer Sciences
Associate Professor
206 Charles Schwab Financial Planning Center
407 Sanford Dr.
Athens, GA 30602
Address:
129 Stuckey Building UGA Griffin Campus
1109 Experiment Street
Griffin, GA 30223
Education
| Degree | Field of Study | Institution | Graduation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ph.D. | Family and Consumer Economics | Purdue University | 2006 |
| M.S. | Agricultural Economics | Purdue University | 2003 |
| B.S. | Agriculture & Natural Resources | Africa University, Zimbabwe | 1997 |
Research
- Mobile money and digitized services in African countries.
- Consumer complaint handling and redress in African digital markets
- Fintech and digital divide for low-income, minorities, unbanked, and other vulnerable groups
Contactless payments and the payment divide
Recent funding: Facebook
Prior Professional Positions
| Organization | Title | Years of Service |
|---|---|---|
| University of Georgia | Assistant/Associate Professor | 2010-present |
| Virginia Tech | Assistant Professor | 2006-10 |
Awards
| Award Name | Awarded By | Year Awarded |
|---|---|---|
| Faculty Seed Grant in the Sciences | Office of Research, UGA | 2020 |
| Global Research Collaboration Grant | Office of Research, Office of Global Engagement, UGA | 2019 |
| Undergraduate Academic Advisor Award | College of Family and Consumer Sciences, UGA | 2015 |
| Sarah H. Moss Fellowship - Cameroon | Center for Teaching and Learning, UGA | 2014 |
| Sarah H. Moss Fellowship - Zimbabwe | Center for Teaching and Learning, UGA | 2012 |
| Dissertation Award | Western Family Economics Association, USA | 2007 |
Editorial Appointments
| Position | Name of Journal | Year(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Associate Editor | Family and Consumer Sciences Research Journal | 2018- |
Service
| Organization | Title | Year(s) | Service Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Georgia Association of Family & Consumer Sciences | Board member | 2020- | Student Unit Advisor |
| American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences | Awards Chair | 2019- | Family Economics & Resource Management community |
| Georgia Association of Family & Consumer Sciences | Board member | 2015-17 | Resource Development |
| American Council on Consumer Interests | Board member | 2015-17 | Membership and Marketing |
Outreach
Public Storage launches contactless move-ins for peace of mind
Mobile financial apps won't do the work for you
Contactless payments surge during COVID-19
Fintech and Financial Inclusion (Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta)
Advisory Committee
Graduate Chair:
- Aditi Routh
- Judith Aboagye, Sophia Anong, Provider and Consumer Perceptions on Mobile Money and Microfinance Integrations in Ghana: A Financial Inclusion Approach, International Journal of Business and Economics Research. Special Issue: Microfinance and Local Development. Vol. 9, No. 4, 2020, pp. 276-297. 2017 University of Georgia Graduate School Interdisciplinary & Innovative Research Grant; 2017 Emerging Scholar - American Association of Family & Consumer Sciences.
- Zhao, H., Anong, S.T. and Zhang, L. (2019), Understanding the impact of financial incentives on NFC mobile payment adoption: An experimental analysis, International Journal of Bank Marketing, Vol. 37 No. 5, pp. 1296-1312. 2016 Award from the Jan M. Hathcote Social Science Academic Support Fund.
- Chalise, L., & Anong, S. (2017). Spending Behavior Change and Financial Distress during the Great Recession. Journal of Financial Counseling and Planning, 28(1), 49.
Undergaduate Research:
- Contactless Payments lab
- Keane Swenson, B.S. Economics, Statistics minor. Mobile Financial Services and Healthcare Utilization in Zimbabwe, 2020 FINRA Undergraduate Student competition award, Presented at the 2020 annual meeting of the American Council on Consumer Interests and 2020 UGA CURO symposium.
- Rajashri Manjanuth, B.S. Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Sociology minor. Socioeconomic Disparities in Mental Health and Financial Strain (CDC- National Health Interview Survey). 2018 FINRA Undergraduate Student competition winner, Presented at the 2018 annual meeting of the American Council on Consumer Interests.
Current Classes
Intro to Personal Finance (online), Wealth Management I, Comprehensive Financial Planning
Current Research
I am working on a randomized evaluation of increasing the number of female mobile money agents in rural Ghana. Expected outcomes include increased overall agency for women personally, in shared households, and in their communities, increased consumer agency, and a decrease in fraud which has been found to be highest among female agent to female customer interactions.
I also lead two projects that study the accelerated adoption of contactless payments during the pandemic. In one project, our multidisciplinary team surveys U.S. consumers and small business owners and also incorporates discrete payment choice experiments with both groups. The purpose is to detect digital and payment divides, attitudes, and linkages with localized factors such as payment infrastructure, COVID-19 infection rates, and reopening guidelines. Developments with federally-approved COVID-19 drug treatments or vaccine as well as with two pending bills, the Payment Choice Act and the Touchless Transactions Act, are also considered. The other project is an intervention with small businesses in the state of Georgia. This is a randomized evaluation that examines effects of offering rewards and tailored information on new adoptions or expansions of remote or in-store contactless payment systems. The two payment bills are also implemented hypothetically and evaluated. The study oversamples ethnic minority owners and those in lower-income or rural locations.