Mobile money

The value of daily mobile money services rose from USD 1.7 billion in 2019 to USD 2.1 billion in 2020, an increase of 24%. These services include money transfers and making and receiving payments using a mobile phone, without the need for a formal bank account.

Mobile money services are used predominantly in developing countries where many are unbanked. For example, 14% of the Sub-Saharan African population – 159 million people – used a mobile money service every month in 2020, an increase of 18% compared to 2019. Some might never open a formal bank account and use a plastic bank card. Instead, they could very likely leapfrog to the future with the use of mobile wallets and digital payments.

Mobile money services around the world