Ecobank and Hub2 announce mobile wallet partnership

Details: Vaughan O'Grady; Category: Mobile Finance; 02 March 2026; 6997 views

Pan-African banking group Ecobank Transnational Incorporated and Hub2, a regional fintech infrastructure provider, have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to connect Hub2’s network of more than 200 million mobile wallets to Ecobank’s pan-African digital banking platform.

The two companies say that this partnership strengthens payment interoperability across Francophone Africa and expands access to secure, low-cost digital transactions for businesses and consumers.

This MoU comes as Africa continues to lead the global mobile money market. The continent now accounts for 74% of worldwide transaction volume, according to the GSMA's State of the Industry Report. The sector added US$190 billion to sub-Saharan Africa's GDP in 2023 and serves more than 709 million registered accounts across the region.

However, despite rapid growth, Ecobank says that fragmented payment ecosystems still require businesses to integrate separately with multiple operators, which slows digital commerce, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises.

By combining Hub2’s single-API payment infrastructure with Ecobank’s regulatory footprint and banking network across 32 African markets, the two groups say, the partnership creates a unified gateway for merchants, fintechs and remittance providers to move funds seamlessly across borders. The collaboration is designed to simplify integration, expedite settlement, and unlock new regional trade and digital commerce opportunities.

Sandra Yao, Ecobank's Group Head of Cross-Border Remittance, Payments and Banking-as-a-Service, explains: “African businesses cannot scale if payments remain fragmented and difficult to navigate across borders. Our partnership with Hub2 aims to remove those barriers. By connecting banking infrastructure with mobile wallet ecosystems at scale, we are enabling businesses to operate regionally with the same ease as they do locally.”

The initial focus of the partnership will be the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) and the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC) regions where Hub2 is already established. Hub2 currently operates in twelve countries across West and Central Africa, including Côte d’Ivoire, Benin, Senegal, and Cameroon, serving clients such as neobanks, e-commerce platforms, and remittance operators. The platform boasts a 98% transaction success rate.

Under the agreement, Hub2’s clients will gain access to Ecobank’s settlement infrastructure, potentially reducing transaction times and costs for cross-border payments. The companies said they will roll out services progressively, with initial focus on Francophone markets before broader expansion.

Ecobank has been busy in the financial services market in recent months, announcing some notable partnerships, including one with Thunes in October last year and another with Google Cloud last July.