Mobile money continues to transform the global financial landscape, driving unprecedented growth in remittances, merchant payments, bill payments, and savings.
In 2024, mobile-money-enabled services demonstrated remarkable resilience and expansion, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa, while other regions like South Asia and MENA showed rapid adoption.
According to a survey from the 13th edition of “The State of the Industry Report on mobile money 2025”, mobile money-enabled international remittances emerged as the fastest-growing ecosystem transaction by value, nearly tripling since 2020.
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In 2024, transaction values surged by 22% to reach $34 billion, outpacing the global remittance market’s modest 0.7% growth with a remarkable 28% increase in 2023. Sub-Saharan Africa dominated, accounting for over 70% of mobile money remittances, but South Asia led year-on-year growth at 62%, followed by East Asia and the Pacific at 39%.
Merchant payments via mobile money reached USD 100 billion in 2024, a 21% increase from 2023, making them the highest-value ecosystem transaction over three times the value of international remittances. Transaction volumes grew by 25%, second only to peer-to-peer (P2P) transfers. Sub-Saharan Africa drove two-thirds of merchant payment values, but MENA (38%), East Asia and the Pacific (37%), and South Asia (25%) recorded faster year-on-year growth than Sub-Saharan Africa’s 16%.
Access to merchant payments improved significantly, with registered merchant accounts growing by 40% and unique customer accounts paying merchants rising by 15% between September 2023 and June 2024. While in-person transactions remain dominant, online merchant payments are gaining traction, with their average value increasing by over a third during the same period. This shift underscores mobile money’s role in bridging physical and digital commerce.
After a rare decline in 2023, global bill payments via mobile money rebounded strongly in 2024, growing by USD 16 billion, double the value lost the previous year. Sub-Saharan Africa accounted for 70% of bill payment values, but MENA (32%) and South Asia (24%) led in annual growth.
Bill payments remain a core use case, with over 90% of MMPs offering this service in 2023 and 2024. Electricity bill payments topped transaction values for 41% of providers, and nearly one in five MMPs introduced recurring bill payment options to enhance user convenience.
Transfers between banks and mobile money accounts grew faster than cash-ins and cash-outs. Of all interoperable transaction values, bank-to-mobile (B2M) transfers were the highest in 2024 at $127 billion (Figure 25). Mobile-to-bank (M2B) transfers totaled $125 billion in 2024, 17% higher than in 2023.
This marked the first time since 2019 that B2M transfers were higher than M2B – another important milestone for the industry and a sign of growing regular mobile money use. P2P off-net transfers rose by 14% in 2024 to reach $73 billion.
In line with other use cases, interoperability transactions are most prevalent in Sub-Saharan Africa (58%). However, other regions grew faster, despite Sub-Saharan Africa’s higher share of interoperable transaction values. MENA grew the quickest year on year at 63%, followed by South Asia (32%), and East Asia and the Pacific (31%). In line with other use cases, interoperability transactions are most prevalent in Sub-Saharan
Africa (58%). However, other regions grew faster despite Sub-Saharan Africa’s higher share of interoperable transaction values. MENA grew the quickest year on year at 63%, followed by South Asia (32%), and East Asia and the Pacific (31%).
Savings A Growing Financial Tool in Mobile Money
Savings remain the second most-offered adjacent financial service. Savings was also the second fastest-growing mobile money-adjacent financial service, with 34% of MMPs offering savings up from 23% in 2023. As a result, the cumulative number of unique customers who transferred funds to a savings account grew by 80% between September 2023 and June 2024.
This includes customers using a dedicated interest-bearing savings account (where regulations permit) or others who use mobile money accounts as a reliable store of value. Demand-side data supports this latter point. In several African and Asian countries, mobile money is being used by more customers to save money.
The number of customers saving money via mobile money over the past 12 months grew by more than 20 percentage points in Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, and Nigeria. Significant increases were also observed in Pakistan and Uganda. A high number of users were already using mobile money to save money in Kenya in 2023, leading to a modest rise in 2024. As of 2023, responses to the 2024 GSMA Global Adoption Survey suggests that women continue to rely on mobile money to save money.
Barriers to Mobile Money Adoption
Despite mobile money’s growth, barriers to account ownership persist. A preference for cash remains the primary obstacle, especially among women in Ethiopia, Pakistan, Nigeria, and the Philippines. In Bangladesh, men cited cash preference more than women.
Lack of knowledge and skills also hinders adoption, with Ethiopia’s nascent market showing similar challenges for men (66%) and women (60%) in understanding mobile money. Device usability issues affected both genders equally (46% for men, and 45% for women).
Gender-specific barriers are notable in conservative markets. In Pakistan, 39% of women cited family disapproval as a barrier, compared to 12% of men. In Egypt, 24% of women used a friend or family member’s account, compared to 15% of men, reflecting cultural norms that limit women’s financial autonomy.
Looking Ahead
Mobile money’s meteoric rise in 2024 underscores its transformative potential in global finance. From powering remittances and merchant payments to enabling savings and interoperability, mobile money is reshaping how individuals and businesses engage with money.
Sub-Saharan Africa remains the epicenter, but rapid growth in South Asia, MENA, and East Asia signals a broadening global footprint.