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- Sub-Saharan Africa recorded two-thirds of world’s mobile money transactions
- About 62-billion transactions were recorded in the region in 2023
- Majority (61%) of transactions in Africa were made in East Africa
Two-thirds of the world’s mobile money transactions made in 2023 happened in Sub-Saharan Africa. People in the region did 62-billion transactions worth $912-billion. This is an almost 40% increase from 2022, when 45-billion transactions were conducted in the region.
Mobile money allows users to store and exchange money using a basic mobile phone. It differs from mobile banking in that users do not need a bank account to transact.
There are about 1.4-billion people worldwide who do not have a bank account, according to the GSM Association. When people are excluded from formal financial services, mobile money offers them a secure way to send money, including across borders.
The growth in African mobile money transactions has been largely driven by West and East Africa. East Africa accounts for 61% of transactions on the continent, whereas West Africa accounts for almost one-third of Africa’s total transactions.
— 30 July, 2024Subscribe to the weekly newsletter for more charts like this
