April 8, 2024
The GSM Association (GSMA) has indicated that globally, mobile money reached two significant milestones in 2024, one of which was surpassing two billion registered accounts.
The GSMA, which made this known in its recently released State of Industry Report for Mobile Money 2025 on Tuesday, added the second milestone was exceeding half a billion monthly active users.
According to the GSMA report: “The mobile money industry took 18 years, from 2001, to reach one billion registered accounts and 250 million active users.
“Remarkably, it doubled its size in the subsequent five years.”
The latest report highlighted a robust double-digit growth in both the volume and value of transactions conducted through mobile money accounts in 2024.
It noted that approximately 108 billion transactions, totaling over 1.68 trillion dollars were processed through mobile money accounts in 2024.
It said that year-on-year, transaction volumes increased by 20 per cent while transaction values grew by 16 per cent, a notable increase from the 13 per cent growth recorded in 2023.
The report, however, noted that in spite of the significant progress achieved in mobile money globally, several barriers to its wider adoption persisted.
According to the GSMA report, a notable barrier to wider adoption is the gender gap in mobile money ownership.
“Among 12 countries surveyed, eight continue to exhibit a gender gap, with little improvement observed since 2023.
“Limited awareness of mobile money services and low digital financial literacy are identified as significant barriers, particularly affecting women,” the association said.
However, the report also highlighted a positive trend, noting that women who do hold mobile money accounts are nearly as likely as men to have actively used them in the past 30 days.
To address these persistent challenges and promote greater financial inclusion, the GSMA reported that nearly 60 per cent of mobile money providers had launched digital financial literacy initiatives.
According to the GSMA, these initiatives aim at improving financial skills among the population and driving the long-term adoption of mobile money services.
Commenting, Vivek Badrinath, the Director-General of GSMA, further highlighted the importance of supporting financial literacy programmes.
“These programmes empower underserved populations and create new opportunities for informed financial decision-making,” he said.
Badrinath stressed that mobile money had emerged as a powerful driver of financial inclusion and economic growth.
“However, its continued success depends on supportive regulatory environments that promote innovation, accessibility and help unlock the full socio-economic potential,” he said.
The director-general stressed the critical role of collaboration between governments, regulators, and financial service providers.
He said that collaboration was essential to ensure that mobile money remained accessible, affordable and safe for all users.
The report said that mobile money continued to play a pivotal role in global economic development.
It said that mobile money providers were increasingly offering adjacent financial services beyond basic transactions.
It noted that these included credit, savings and insurance products, indicating a maturation of the mobile money ecosystem.
The report said that as of June 2024, 44 per cent of mobile money providers offered credit services, making it the most commonly provided adjacent financial product.
It noted that savings services on the other hand, were offered by approximately one-third of providers.
The report said that Insurance remained the least common adjacent service, with around 28 per cent of providers offering it.
It noted further that Sub-Saharan Africa remained the world’s most active mobile money region, driven by new registered accounts and rising monthly activity in East and West Africa.
The report said further that East Africa was the leading driver of monthly active account growth in 2024, followed by Southeast Asia and West Africa.
It noted that while Sub-Saharan Africa maintained its position as the most active mobile money region globally, the East Asia-Pacific region was also demonstrating significant progress.
“East Asia-Pacific recorded the second-fastest growth rate for active monthly accounts, only surpassed by the Middle East and North Africa.
“Its growth rate is supported by enabling regulatory environments in key markets such as Cambodia, Fiji, the Philippines, and Vietnam,” the report explained.(NAN)
