In 2024, the mobile money industry crossed a historic threshold. According to the GSMA State of the Industry Report on Mobile Money 2025, the sector now boasts over 2.1 billion registered accounts and 514 million monthly active users.
This is a milestone that underscores the transformation of mobile money from a financial inclusion enabler into a linchpin of economic resilience across the Global South.
This evolution has been anything but accidental.
It took 18 years to reach the first billion mobile money accounts, but only five more to double that figure. Such acceleration is not merely a story of scale — it is a narrative of systemic integration, commercial maturity, and economic impact.
From Access to Infrastructure
In many low- and middle-income countries, mobile money has become an essential financial utility — as indispensable as electricity or clean water.
Nowhere is this more visible than in Sub-Saharan Africa, which alone accounts for over two-thirds of global mobile money accounts and processed $1.1 trillion in transactions last year.
This represents a commanding 66% of the global transaction value via mobile money — a testament to the region’s dominance and innovation in the space.
Yet, the true value of mobile money is not found in volume alone. It lies in what that volume enables.
“Mobile money infrastructure is enabling more efficient cash flows, stimulating consumer activity, and opening formal economic channels to previously excluded populations,” notes the GSMA report.
Indeed, by the end of 2023, mobile money contributed $720 billion to GDP across markets where it is active — an average uplift of 1.7%, rising to more than 5% in economies such as Kenya, Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire.
In Sub-Saharan Africa, the contribution reached $190 billion, highlighting mobile money’s role as a growth engine in economies that have long been cash-reliant and underbanked.
Profit Meets Purpose
What began as a tool of financial inclusion has grown into a profitable commercial model. The sector is thriving not just on social merit but on sustainable business logic. Nearly 80% of mobile money providers (MMPs) reported a positive EBITDA in 2024, with 45% achieving margins above 25%.
Average revenue per user (ARPU) climbed from $2.86 to $3.51 year-on-year, while business models have diversified. Although customer fees still comprise 80% of revenue for most providers, partnerships and B2B transactions are growing in significance.
Strategic alliances with global payment giants — such as Mastercard’s 2024 collaborations with MTN MoMo, Orange Money, and Safaricom’s M-PESA — reflect rising investor appetite and evolving service portfolios that now include virtual cards, international remittance rails, and digital lending.
Agent Networks and the Human Interface
Behind these numbers is a vast network of agents — 28 million registered globally, 10 million of whom were active on a monthly basis in 2024. The agent-to-adult ratio has doubled since 2021, improving accessibility and customer trust.
Agents continue to play a dual role as both transaction enablers and informal financial educators. While commissions now account for a slightly smaller share of provider revenue (down from 45% to 41%), their importance in driving usage and liquidity remains indisputable.
In this sense, mobile money is as much about people as it is about platforms.
Ecosystem Expansion: Beyond P2P
Perhaps the most profound shift in 2024 was the move from person-to-person (P2P) transfers to a broader ecosystem of financial services.
Merchant payments surged past $100 billion, making it the highest-value ecosystem use case. International remittances grew by 22%, reaching $34 billion, while bill payments and bulk disbursements recovered after pandemic-related declines.
Interoperability has also improved markedly. Bank-to-mobile (B2M) and mobile-to-bank (M2B) transactions were nearly equal in value — $127 billion and $125 billion, respectively — suggesting a more integrated digital financial system that users increasingly trust.
Strategic Value to MNOs
The commercial implications extend well beyond the payments space. Mobile money is now a cornerstone of mobile network operator (MNO) strategy.
For Safaricom, M-PESA accounted for over 42% of total revenue in FY2024 — up almost 10 percentage points from 2021. Airtel Money and MTN MoMo saw similar upward trajectories, contributing 17% and 18% respectively to parent company revenues.
These figures have not gone unnoticed in boardrooms or investment committees. Since 2021, MTN’s fintech arm has been valued at $5.2 billion, while investments from TPG’s Rise Fund, MUFG, and Mastercard have poured into platforms across Asia and Africa.
Mobile money is no longer a high-risk bet — it is core infrastructure with real returns.
A Regulatory Balancing Act
Despite its successes, the industry still faces headwinds. The regulatory environment remains a crucial determinant of mobile money’s trajectory.
Progressive policies in countries like Cambodia, Fiji, and Vietnam have unlocked rapid adoption. In contrast, markets with restrictive frameworks continue to see slower growth and innovation. Fraud, digital literacy, and gender gaps in financial access remain significant challenges.
Indeed, across 12 countries surveyed by the GSMA, a gender gap in account ownership was found in two-thirds. Structural barriers such as phone ownership, digital skills, and social norms continue to disadvantage women in particular — a gap that undermines not only equity but also economic potential.
As mobile money platforms expand into savings, credit, insurance, and even investment products, regulators will need to strike a balance between enabling innovation and ensuring consumer protection.
The Next Frontier
Looking forward, mobile money is set to evolve from transactional platforms into fully-fledged digital financial ecosystems. Providers are moving into embedded finance, building products that integrate directly with users’ digital lives — from agritech and education to gig economy tools and cross-border trade solutions.
The sector’s transformation also demands a fresh lens for policymakers, investors, and development practitioners alike. Mobile money is no longer an accessory to economic development. It is one of its most potent instruments.
As the GSMA succinctly puts it, “The sector is now primed for its next wave of expansion – one that could redefine how entire populations engage with the digital economy.”
That wave is already forming. And it will likely break over not only the traditional strongholds of Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, but also emerging markets in Latin America, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific — where digital inclusion is fast becoming synonymous with economic opportunity.
A Turning Point in Digital Finance
Mobile money’s coming of age marks a turning point in global finance. It is at once a policy tool, a business model, and a social safety net. Its blend of accessibility, affordability, and adaptability has enabled it to serve as a bridge — connecting the informal with the formal, the underserved with the mainstream, and the present with the potential future of digital economies.
What started as a means to send money across villages is now moving billions across borders and supporting national economies. The question is no longer whether mobile money matters — but how best to harness it for inclusive, sustainable growth.
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