Mobile money has evolved from a narrow product service in a few markets to a global financial service. According to moneytransfer.com, registered mobile money accounts stand at 1.35B. This is an 18% growth from 2020.
In 2021, mobile money adoption and usage increased over the previous year. Last year, there were more than 1.5 million person-to-person (P2P) hourly transactions—a 22-fold increase over 2012.
The COVID-19 pandemic hastened this transition. Most people now use virtual, no-contact methods to buy items, pay bills, receive, and send money. This continued growth helped push the value of transactions to the trillion-dollar mark in 2021. A milestone reached faster than anyone in the industry could have predicted.
Africa continues to lead in mobile money adoption
Sub-Saharan Africa has seen the most significant increase in mobile money. With $403 billion in transactions, East Africa maintains the highest transaction values.
According to moneytransfer.com, West Africa is still proliferating, with a 60% increase in transaction value since 2020.
Despite the new milestone, mobile money is still used in low- and middle-income states. North America is still missing from the data set. Europe has the lowest transaction value among the regions listed.
Yet, as it finds savings, credit, and premiums applications, mobile money appears set to remain vital in Africa. The venture is attracting multimillion-dollar financing. Entities such as Mastercard aim to bridge financial access gaps in the quickest growing cities.
