The global mobile money industry reached new heights in 2025, marking a pivotal moment in its evolution. With record-breaking growth in users, transactions, and agent networks, the sector not only expanded its global footprint but also deepened its impact on financial inclusion, especially across emerging markets.
According to GSMA, “The State of the Industry Report on Mobile Money 2026″, the mobile money industry recorded unprecedented growth last year, with total registered accounts reaching 2.3 billion, representing a 13% increase from the previous year. The sector added 268 million new accounts, marking the largest annual increase in absolute terms to date.
Sub-Saharan Africa remained the primary driver of this expansion, contributing over two-thirds of the total growth. East Asia and the Pacific accounted for approximately 15% of new accounts, while South Asia contributed 12%.
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Active usage also surged significantly. Monthly active (30-day) accounts rose by 15% to 593 million, the highest growth rate since 2021. An additional 77 million users engaged with mobile money services on a monthly basis, representing the largest increase in active users since the industry’s inception.
East Africa led this growth, contributing nearly half of the new active accounts, followed by West Africa (16%), Southeast Asia (12%), and South Asia (10%). Agent networks expanded rapidly to support this growth. By 2025, there were 30 million registered mobile money agents globally, a 16% increase from 2024.
Of these, 11 million were active monthly, reflecting a 17% rise year-on-year. East Africa accounted for 53% of new active agents, followed by Central Africa (13%), West Africa (10%), South Asia (9%), and Southeast Asia (9%).
Mobile money agents continued to play a critical role in digitising cash economies. In 2025, agents facilitated cash-in transactions worth $430 billion, representing a 20% increase from the previous year, the fastest growth rate in four years.
Notably, the number of active agents has grown faster than active users since 2021, reducing the average number of customers per agent from 28 to 19. This shift allows agents to provide more personalised support and improved service delivery.
A major milestone was achieved in 2025, as total transaction values flowing through mobile money wallets exceeded $2 trillion. While it took the industry two decades to reach the $1 trillion mark, it doubled that figure in just four years.
Peer-to-peer (P2P) transfers dominated transaction value, accounting for 42%, followed by cash-based transactions (37%) and ecosystem transactions (21%). After several years of declining average transaction values, 2025 saw a reversal of this trend.
Transaction values grew by 23%, outpacing the 16% growth in transaction volumes. This shift led to an increase in the average transaction size, following a drop from $18.6 in 2021 to $15.9 in 2024.
Cash remains the primary entry and exit point within the mobile money ecosystem, although digital alternatives are gaining traction. In December 2025, just over half of incoming funds were cash-based, reflecting a slight decline from the previous year.
Bank-to-mobile transfers increased by 1.5 percentage points, signaling growing integration between traditional banking systems and mobile money platforms. On the outgoing side, the share of cash withdrawals declined by two percentage points, while mobile-to-bank transfers rose by three percentage points, offsetting the reduction.
The total value of funds circulating within the ecosystem reached $56 billion, a 20% increase year-on-year. Merchant payments accounted for a growing share of this circulation, rising by three percentage points to 26%.
International remittances via mobile money also saw strong growth. In 2025, $45 billion in remittances were processed, a 23% increase from the previous year. Transaction volumes grew even faster, rising by 28% to 381 million.
Sub-Saharan Africa dominated this segment, accounting for three-quarters of global remittance value, with West Africa contributing 39% and East Africa 28%. However, the fastest growth rates were recorded in East Asia and the Pacific (32%), followed by Sub-Saharan Africa (27%) and South Asia (25%).
The availability of international remittance services expanded significantly, with 85% of mobile money providers offering the service in 2025, up from 77% in 2023. User behavior trends show that more people receive international transfers than send them.
On average, 86,000 users per provider received remittances in June 2025, an 11% increase, while the number of users sending remittances declined slightly by 2% to 26,000. Regulatory differences continue to influence this pattern, with 80% of providers citing supportive inbound remittance policies compared to 57% for outbound transfers.
Bill payments also remained a key use case for mobile money services. Users spent nearly $100 billion on bill payments in 2025, reflecting an 8% increase from the previous year. Sub-Saharan Africa accounted for over two-thirds of the total bill payment value.
However, faster growth rates were observed in other regions, including Latin America and the Caribbean (18%), South Asia (14%), and East Asia and the Pacific (13%), compared to 6% growth in Sub-Saharan Africa.
With 97% of mobile money providers offering bill payment services, adoption remains widespread. On average, each provider processed bill payments for nearly one million unique users in June 2025. Electricity payments emerged as the most common bill payment category by value, highlighting the role of mobile money in facilitating essential everyday transactions.
Overall, the mobile money industry in 2025 demonstrated strong momentum, deeper financial integration, and increasing global relevance, positioning it as a cornerstone of digital financial inclusion worldwide.