Mobile Finance

In a remarkable change of heart, Zimbabwe seems to be about to bring back mobile money services that it once blamed for the country’s currency crash.

MTN South Africa partnered with banking and financial services companies to integrate digital payments solution Payshap into its mobile money platform MoMo, a move MTN claimed will bridge the gap for the unbanked.

In a move it says is  set to “boost the transition towards a cashless economy and support the national digitalisation agenda”, UAE operator du has announced the launch of du Pay, offering what it calls transformative fintech solutions for UAE residents.

Remittance deals continue to hog the fintech headlines in Africa. MTN MoMo, Mastercard and Equity Bank Kenya are the latest companies to make announcements about plans to serve the vast African remittance market.

Mastercard and pan-African digital payments company Onafriq announced on Monday that they are collaborating to increase accessibility to mobile payment services for consumers and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) across Africa.

Remittances are in the news yet again, this time in the shape of LemFi, a cross-border payment solution that allows people in the diaspora to send and receive funds back home. LemFi has announced that it has secured the approval of the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) to operate remittances in Kenya.

Bangladesh operator Banglalink has partnered with mobile financial service provider bKash and City Bank to finance 4G smartphone purchases for customers to make the devices more affordable and in turn boost 4G adoption.

A remittances-focused partnership has been announced that could see the expansion of M-Pesa, the continent’s leading mobile money and digital payments service, to West Africa.

The mobile money market matured as transaction value grew by 14% to US$1.4 trillion and total global registered accounts reached 1.75 billion in 2023, an increase of 12% year-on-year.

Safaricom Ethiopia’s M-Pesa mobile money service has signed an international money transfer agreement with Onafriq, Africa’s largest digital payments network, which currently operates in 40 African countries.

Mastercard has signed a deal with China’s Alipay to facilitate international remittances into the market.

MTN Uganda Mobile Money managing director and CEO Richard Yego revealed the operator is aiming to almost double its loans to UGX1 trillion (US$256,000) this year. 

Mastercard and MTN Group Fintech have signed a multi-market agreement that will use Mastercard’s technology and capabilities to support MTN’s ambition to become Africa’s largest fintech platform for both merchants and consumers.

At Mobile World Congress on Monday, payments company Visa and the GSMA Mobile for Development Foundation (a.k.a. the GSMA Foundation) launched the Digital Finance for All (DFA) Initiative to advance digital financial inclusion in developing markets.

Ericsson and Telenor Microfinance Bank (TMB) have signed a multi-year extension of their existing partnership to expand TMB’s mobile wallet easypaisa and establish TMB as a full-fledged digital bank in Pakistan.

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) signed a cooperation agreement with Vodacom to bolster its M-Pesa mobile money platform in Mozambique, a move to boost financial inclusion in the country. 

India’s Unified Payment Interface (UPI) has made its official debut in Sri Lanka and Mauritius, with Nepal reportedly next on the list as India’s real-time payments system continues its international expansion.

Telekom Malaysia (TM) and Maybank Islamic announced on Thursday that they have partnered to create what they’re billing as Malaysia’s first Islamic banking-as-a-service (BaaS) solution powered by 5G.

MTN struck a deal to have financial powerhouse Mastercard invest US$200 million to take a minority stake in the operator’s fintech unit. 

Digital payments in Cambodia grew significantly in 2023 in terms of digital wallet accounts and transactions, according to the latest figures from the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC).

Sri Lankan operator SLT-Mobitel said it has expanded its partnership with insurance company Union Assurance to enable its customers to access tailored life insurance plans via its mobile money platform mCash.

Google Pay India has signed a deal with the international arm of the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) to export India's Unified Payments Interface (UPI) mobile payment system to international markets.

Orange Finances Money Mali, which issues, manages and distributes electronic money under the Orange Money brand in Mali, has announced a partnership with TerraPay, a global cross-border payments network with an extensive reach.

Three Vietnamese banks have reportedly changed their SMS notification policies in a bid to encourage customers to switch to digital banking apps, as SMS charges from telcos are too expensive.

Among news stories that may have sneaked under the radar during the holiday season is an interesting partnership announced about a week ago between Vienna Payment Solutions/VIPASO and technology solutions provider Interswitch East Africa (Kenya) Limited.

M-Pesa, the mobile money platform used by more than 32.1 million Kenyans and over 60 million customers across eight African markets, is taking a new direction in the payments field.

Copia Global, an e-commerce/fintech platform for African mass-market consumers, and payment giant Visa have announced a strategic five-year partnership to provide digital financial services to middle to low-income consumers in Kenya.

Operator Djibouti Telecom says it has developed D-Money, a new online payment service for port workers.

Safaricom continues to enhance the offering of its recently launched Ethiopian service. The latest innovation is a payment system aimed at entrepreneurs, businesses and government.

Operator Tigo Tanzania has partnered with DCB Bank to expand financial inclusion for the unbanked through a service partnership that will enable customers to access the bank's services through mobile payment service Tigo Pesaʼs network of mobile money agents.