London: The GSM Association (GSMA) has indicated that globally, mobile money reached two significant milestones in 2024, one of which was surpassing two billion registered accounts.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, the GSMA, which made this known in its recently released State of Industry Report for Mobile Money 2025 on Tuesday, added the second milestone was exceeding half a billion monthly active users. The GSM Association (GSMA) is a non-profit trade association that represents the interests of mobile network operators worldwide.
The GSMA report highlighted that the mobile money industry took 18 years, from 2001, to reach one billion registered accounts and 250 million active users. Remarkably, it doubled its size in the subsequent five years. The latest report emphasized a robust double-digit growth in both the volume and value of transactions conducted through mobile money accounts in 2024.
It noted that approximately 108 billion transactions, totaling over 1.68 trillion dollars, were processed through mobile money accounts in 2024. Year-on-year, transaction volumes increased by 20 per cent while transaction values grew by 16 per cent, a notable increase from the 13 per cent growth recorded in 2023.
However, the report noted that despite the significant progress achieved in mobile money globally, several barriers to its wider adoption persisted. A notable barrier to wider adoption is the gender gap in mobile money ownership. Among 12 countries surveyed, eight continue to exhibit a gender gap, with little improvement observed since 2023. Limited awareness of mobile money services and low digital financial literacy are identified as significant barriers, particularly affecting women.
The report further noted that savings services were offered by approximately one-third of providers, while insurance remained the least common adjacent service, with around 28 per cent of providers offering it. Sub-Saharan Africa remained the world’s most active mobile money region, driven by new registered accounts and rising monthly activity in East and West Africa.
East Africa was the leading driver of monthly active account growth in 2024, followed by Southeast Asia and West Africa. While Sub-Saharan Africa maintained its position as the most active mobile money region globally, the East Asia-Pacific region was also demonstrating significant progress. East Asia-Pacific recorded the second-fastest growth rate for active monthly accounts, only surpassed by the Middle East and North Africa. Its growth rate is supported by enabling regulatory environments in key markets such as Cambodia, Fiji, the Philippines, and Vietnam.