This strategic research report from berg insight provides you with 160 pages of unique business intelligence and expert. The latest mobile money statistics indicate that users in east africa have largely continued to shift gdp to be transferred via various mobile money platforms. The paper focuses on innovative mobile phones money and banking options in four african countries kenya, nigeria tanzania an d uganda. Mobile money systems offer a dual promise, as an engine for financial inclusion and as an emerging market business opportunity for providers. Africa is the global leader in mobile money, which has become an important component of africas financial services landscape. In fact, subsaharan africa still leads in the number of mobile money accounts and in some countries, mobile money accounts now surpass bank accounts. In fact, if we look back at the history of mobile payments were actually playing catch up. Mpesa, mtn, orange, others lead africas mobile money. Here are two of the largest mobile money operators in africa and beyond. Mobile money for business development in the east african. In addition, mobile money operators do not seem to have, apriori, a good sense for which factors will determine the ultimate success of a deployment. The link between mobile money and financial inclusion will also be discussed.
Mobile money snapshot across the east african community as at 3. Africa is currently rising as a major area where mobile money is spreading. Mobile money also continues to grow in some fragile states. Thus mobile money market has been fast growing in africa see figure 2 below from gsma report 2015 about registered agents growth. Mobile money volumes dominated the countrys national payment systems nps in the last week of march, latest reserve bank of zimbabwe rbz figu.
As basic as that may sound, this is exactly what the trilliondollar banking company is all about. The role of mobile money on financial inclusion in the sadc region. Mobile banking and mobile money adoption for financial. Mobile money is here to stay the success of mobile money in kenya has been nothing short of phenomenal. This can be accounted for by the stable income in the country as. Regulatory impact on mobile money and financial inclusion in. Mobile money services have positively impacted africa since 2007. Mobile moneysolar energy technology platform business model. The growth of mobile money in africa the borgen project.
Design and development for financial inclusion rajiv lal. Leading mobile money operators in subsaharan africa paid out 47% of their revenues as commission. For more information on full subscription access, contact us. The industry is so lucrative that most mobile telecom networks have the service. In our first edition of payment developments in africa, we offered a forwardlooking perspective on the payment. The findex survey said while mobile money has been centered in east africa, the 2017 update reveals that it has spread to west africa and beyond. Research report making sense of mobile money in urban ghana. The success of mobile money lies in the fact that it leverages the ubiquity of mobile phones and the. These writers have based their argument on the success of mpesa, the dominant mobile money in kenya and east africa. Nowadays, the mobile money services, including mobile payments, are developing very fast in africa, comparing not only to other developing countries but also. Transfer market a different approach to mobile money in.
Mobile money services have been deployed in developing countries as a means of extending financial services to the unbanked, but more robust research is needed on the direct link between the use of mobile money services and easier access to finiancial services. This is thanks to the digitalfirst approach, simpler banking models and compelling price offers from telecommunication agencies. Imtfis approach and methodology imtfi, housed in the department of anthropology at the university of california, irvine, specializes in research that explores the intersection of everyday monetary behavior the mobile money experience in subsaharan africa lessons from the institute for. This is available in many countries and allows users to store, send, and receive money using their mobile phone. It highlights differences among the 4 countries and their financial regulatory environment. Mobile money service providers mmsp are required to hold, in an escrow account in their partner sfi, the equivalent of all the mobile money that has been issued to their customers and agents. Mobile money africa africas leading resource for digital. Mobile money banking in uganda has matured beyond proofofconcept stage to mainstream adoption. Associate professor department of african american studies virginia commonwealth university 816 west franklin street, p. The world vision experience belete temesgen, emergency food and cashbased programming advisor, food programming and management group, world vision international. A mobile money operator is a mobile money service provider that develops and delivers financial services through mobile phones and mobile telephone networks. Mobile money at the base is an electronic wallet service that lets users. While the global banking industry is facing sluggish growth, africas banking sector provides a refreshing contrast. Jul 27, 2017 mobile money has also been seen as a lifeline to a number of social and economic clusters in africa, from the increasing number of agents, growing from 100,000 agents in 2011 to 1.
Mobile money services regulation and creating an enabling. Ghana is the fastest growing mobile money market on the african continent owing to a number of initiatives being implemented by the government, m. After a rapid expansion in kenya, tanzania, and uganda, mobile money has spread to other parts of the region. Novafrica collaborated with carteira movel and the central bank of mozambique to provide an indepth study of several channels of impact of mobile money operations. Mobile money has also been seen as a lifeline to a number of social and economic clusters in africa, from the increasing number of agents, growing from 100,000 agents in. Kenya mobile money market assessment 9 observation b.
Telcos chamber denies seizure of deceased momo users account by telcos. Low levels of financial inclusion represent a barrier to socioeconomic development in developing countries. Mobile money accounts now surpass bank accounts in the region and greater financial inclusion has benefited large swathes of the population that remain unbanked including the poor, the young, and women. Africas plight salary banking sector same day out bank fees for deposit and withdrawals fee structure is a disincentive to leave money in bank deposit fees prevent banks from getting cheap capital making money with the interest rate spread why would informal businesses or poor people put money into an account if charged for depositing and. Sep 25, 2015 the latest mobile money statistics indicate that users in east africa have largely continued to shift gdp to be transferred via various mobile money platforms. Sep 30, 2019 after a rapid expansion in kenya, tanzania, and uganda, mobile money has spread to other parts of the region. In just over four years, a country with only 1,072 bank branches has seen the number of agent outlets providing mobile money service grow to 46,000. A tenfold increase in agent reach over five years may have driven. Mobile money innovation is gradually transforming the economy and banking system in africa.
Mobile money in emerging markets mobile money in emerging markets is the second consecutive report from berg insight that gives first hand insights into the latest developments on the mobile money and remittances markets. Most people and small businesses in emerging economies today do not fully participate in the formal financial system. According to the 2015 global index report by the world bank, the countries whose penetration rate for mobile money accounts was over 10% were all located in subsaharan africa. Southern africa national bank of angola wants to implement digital money system across the country. For providers of digital financial services, mobile money can be a gateway into huge and largely untouched markets. Mobile network operators mnos have dominated mobile money services in africa for the past decade. State of the mobile money industry in subsaharan africa gsma. Access channels offered by different mobile money platforms across the east africa. Carteira movel, controlled by the main mobile phone operator in mozambique, launched the first mobile money service in the country branded mkesh. Mobile money in uganda international growth centre. Mobile money operators typically leverage an agent network to. Mobile money in west africa has come a long way since 2011 30new mobile money accounts were registeredevery minute in the past five years there are more than 3 times as many mobile money subscribers 92m as facebook subscribers account activity has improved rapidly, nearly doubling from 16% in 2011 to 31% in 2016 30 new mobile money. Informal sector gdp contribution, link to formal sector, contribution to job generation vastly unknown in africa yet the informal sector is.
It further examines different regulations that have. Mobile money services started in kenya in 2007 through mpesa m for. Ghana is fastest growing mobile money market in africa. Subsaharan africa is the only region in the world where close to 10 percent of gdp in transactions occur through mobile money. Mobile money, financial inclusion, and development in africa. A different approach to mobile money in africa the economist. Jacob park, kevin ruble fellow in conscious capitalism school of. The role of mobile money in financial inclusion in the. This far exceeds customer adoption in south asia, the secondbiggest region for mobile money in terms of market share, with 40 million active mobile money accounts used by 2. It can be used on both smartphones and basic feature phones.
Nov 27, 2018 how mobile money continues to boom in africa. In this article, i explain what mobile money services are all about and how to get started. In many markets, individual outlets may serve several mobile money service providers. Article pdf205kb africa is the global leader in mobile money, which has become an important component of africa s financial services landscape.
African mobile money story is known to have started in kenya in 2007 when. While kenya is often cited as a leading example of digital transformation, ghana has recently become the fastestgrowing mobile money market in africa, with registered accounts increasing sixfold. Mobileenabled persontoperson payments, or mobile money transfer services mmt, are experiencing rapid adoption in many markets, in response to steady growth in remittances, the worldwide ubiquity of cell phones, and the need for an electronic p2p payment alternative to paperbased mechanisms like cash and checks. Based on these examples and the assessment of the mobile money market, section ix provides recommendations to implementers and donors on how both can properly. That is why we have developed this series on payment developments in africa. In africa today, there are 100 million active mobile money accounts used by one in ten african adults.
Mobile money services design and development for financial. We believe that, by sharing our insights and knowledge, we can help drive africas payments journey. The safe and easy electronic payments make mobile money a popular alternative to bank accounts. They have, however, forgotten to draw a parallel to mobile technology adoption as well as mobile money adoption in the west african region. This second part of the report on mobile money considers innovations driving mobile money transfer applications in developing countries and how these are contributing towards achieving the goals of financial inclusion. Mobile money in subsaharan africa and its implications by. This article will show how mobile money in africa has opened access to the previously unbanked, and look at the role that regulators are playing to mitigate the money laundering risks associated with mobile money. Pdf in developing countries, specifically in subsaharan africa, mobile money comes with huge benefits to users by facilitating users to better. To compete in africas diverse mobile money markets, banks must offer distinctive mobile and digital services not only in payments and deposits, but across the spectrum of financial services. The bou has only approved mobile money operations when this is done in partnership with a supervised financial institution sfi. Regulatory impact on mobile money and financial inclusion in african countries kenya, nigeria, tanzania and uganda. Novafrica the introduction of mobile money in mozambique.
Pdf the aim of this study is to assess mobile money services market developments in africa in recent years in comparison to other parts of the world. Mobile commerce at large is gaining importance in many developing countries. Mobile money a payment industry revolution impacting. Mobile money services design and development for financial inclusion rajiv lal ishan sachdev. Transfer market a different approach to mobile money in africa. Since 2007, kenyas mpesa has revolutionized the way people spend, save, and send money. Financial inclusion enabler itut technology watch report may 20 globally, more than 2. A qualitative exploration of mobile money in ghana compass 18, june 2022, 2018, menlo park and san jose, ca, usa with 59% of the population currently paying for insurance, 67% actively saving and 40% of the population investing money 18. This paper a presentscrosscountry comparison of mobile money ownership and its determinants together with the factors affecting mobile money adoption. Mobile enabled persontoperson payments, or mobile money transfer services mmt, are experiencing rapid adoption in many markets, in response to steady growth in remittances, the worldwide ubiquity of cell phones, and the need for an electronic p2p payment alternative to paperbased mechanisms like cash and checks. Integrated energy, poverty, and market development solution in subsaharan africa. Regulatory impact on mobile money and financial inclusion.