MTN MoMo (Mobile Money) has reached 13 million registered users in South Africa, as it continues to expand financial accessibility.
The mobile financial service allows users to send, receive and store money using their mobile phones.
In 2020, the mobile operator relaunched is MoMo platform in Johannesburg, about four years after the service failed to take off in the country.
At the time, the telco relaunched the service in partnership with Ubank, a financial service provider with a strong presence in rural areas as well as mining communities in SA.
It has since entered into several partnerships to scale the platform. This includes a partnership with Mastercard to launch a prepaid virtual card tailored for MTN’s MoMo customers, granting them access to over 100 million acceptance points worldwide.
Additionally, the Mastercard partnership allows MoMo merchants to seamlessly accept card payments, enhancing the platform’s instant cross-border money remittance services and capabilities.
MTN had decommissioned the MoMo offering in South Africa in 2016 due to lack of commercial viability.
The service was originally launched in 2012, when MTN partnered with the South African Bank of Athens, Pick n Pay and Boxer stores to offer a mobile money solution enabling the opening of simple bank accounts via phones.
According to industry body GSMA, mobile money has significantly expanded financial access, particularly in areas with limited banking infrastructure, offering services like money transfers, bill payments, and access to credit and savings.
Statista notes that Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest level of global mobile money adoption, with the number of mobile money accounts growing rapidly.
It adds that M-Pesa – managed by Vodacom and Safaricom – and MTN MoMo are among the most prominent mobile money services in Africa, with millions of users across the continent.
“Since its relaunch in South Africa, MoMo has played a key role in promoting economic growth and reducing the digital financial divide,” says Kagiso Mothibi, CEO of fintech at MTN South Africa.
“It provides a pathway for people who have operated on a cash basis for most of their lives to enter the formal banking system. This transition can transform lives.”
MTN explains that MoMo users gain access to banking services, credit and insurance. On a broader scale, it says this increase in financial inclusion drives job creation, entrepreneurship and overall economic development.
The MoMo platform is also available in other African countries where MTN operates. In its financial results for the year ended 31 December, MTN Group said across its markets, MoMo monthly active users (MAU) increased by 0.9% to 63.1 million, with data traffic increasing by 32.6% to 19 459 petabytes.
However, the telco noted that growth in MoMo MAU slowed during the period due to initiatives in key fintech markets implemented to enhance the quality, stickiness and profitability of the firm’s overall ecosystem.
“From the outset, our mission has been clear: to provide an accessible, cost-effective alternative to traditional banking for the unbanked and underbanked,” says Mothibi.
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