Mobile Money: Nigeria, others account for 69.8% of global transactions - report

NIGERIA and other Sub-Saharan African countries accounted for 69.77 per cent of total mobile money transactions in 2021, according to a report by GSMA.

The total value of mobile money transactions in 2021 was $1tn. Sub-Saharan Africa accounted for $697.7bn of these.

GSMA disclosed this in a report titled, ‘State of the Industry Report on Mobile Money 2022.’

The report stated that there were 53.9 billion mobile money transactions in 2021. Of this, 36.6 billion transactions worth $697.7bn were carried out in Sub-Saharan Africa; 6.9 billion transactions worth $141.9bn were carried out in the East Asia and Pacific region; 8.9 billion transactions worth $156.3bn were carried out in the South Asian countries; 970 million transactions worth $30bn were carried out in the Latin America and the Caribbean region; 242 million transactions worth $13.7bn were carried out in the Middle Eastern and North African countries; 294 million transactions worth $6.3bn were carried out in the European and Central Asian countries.

The Director-General, GSMA, Mats Granryd, said, “Mobile money is not just good business, it is also the key to advancing financial inclusion and bringing us closer to achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

“Millions of previously unbanked families now have access to safe and secure financial services that are transforming their lives, and many of these life-enhancing initiatives have been supported by the GSMA Innovation Funds.”

He added that the pandemic elevated the use cases of mobile money, as it became a major source of payment.

He stated, “The Covid-19 pandemic has made mobile money even more critical, and the data shows this. As people increasingly paid for everyday goods and services through their mobile money accounts, merchant payments skyrocketed.

“Bulk disbursements grew rapidly as more companies started paying salaries directly into their employees’ accounts, and governments partnered with mobile money providers to deliver much-needed pandemic relief payments. Remarkably, despite the economic uncertainty, international remittances also grew by 48 per cent in 2021, as diasporas around the world continued to send money home.”

The Head of Mobile for Development, GSMA, Max Cuvellier, added, “2021 was the year mobile money started to really diversify to B2B services.

“Beyond traditional person-to-person transactions, such as transferring money to family or friends, the industry is now central in helping small businesses operate more efficiently, and serve their customers better.”

GSMA said more than 1.35 billion mobile money accounts were registered in 2021, a tenfold increase from 134 million in 2012. It said, the proportion of accounts active on a 90-day basis has grown from 26 per cent to 38 per cent from 2012 to 2021, and from 20 per cent to 26 per cent for monthly active accounts in the same time period.

According to the global organisation, for mobile operators, the growing population of low and middle-income countries will ensure that mobile money markets remain far from saturated with demand for mobile financial services likely to sustain an upward trajectory.

It added, “Despite progress in mobile money adoption, hundreds of millions of people in LMICs encounter barriers at every step of the mobile money journey, including mobile phone ownership (this is a particular barrier for women).

“Even among registered account holders, about one billion are not active on a monthly basis, representing an important opportunity for the industry to deepen financial inclusion and economic participation.”

GSMA said account growth is expected to grow in Nigeria in the near future, especially with the Central Bank of Nigeria granting approvals in principle to mobile network operators to run mobile money services in the nation.

source: Punch News