According to Global System for Mobile Communications Association ’s 2024 State of the Industry Report on Mobile Money, registered mobile money accounts grew by 12 per cent to 1.75 billion in 2023 while transaction values for international remittances via mobile money grew to almost $29 billion and merchant payments by 14 per cent to around $74 billion.
While many of the world’s largest digital merchants have started accepting mobile money payments, most international merchants still do not. This has meant that utilising mobile money in the global commercial space is cumbersome, resulting in a gap between financial inclusion locally within the continent and access to the global financial system.
However, international merchants or companies would have to integrate with each of these different payment service providers individually in every single economy on the continent in order to cater to a wide range of consumers, which is simply not feasible. Although before, people would need to transfer funds from their mobile wallet to a bank account and then use the bank-issued card to make a payment, this interoperability between the two legacy platforms—mobile wallet and card—means that both individuals and businesses are able to make direct payments by simply linking the two together.