MTN’s mobile money platform, MoMo, processed $2.1 billion in international remittances across 14 markets in the first half of 2025, a sign that MTN Group Fintech, the financial arm of Africa’s largest telecom operator, is making headway in its push to simplify cross-border payments. For CEO Serigne Dioum, this is only the first step towards building a borderless African payment ecosystem.
“At the core of our vision is a world where financial services are seamless, accessible, and secure,” Dioum told in an interview. “We’ve built a digital platform that empowers individuals and businesses to manage their finances better and gain access to essential services.”
Dioum believes that the conversation around financial inclusion in Africa must evolve. “Inclusion becomes sustainable when payments are part of daily life,” he explained. “But the focus needs to shift from simply giving people access to financial tools to helping them build wealth and achieve economic empowerment.”
That shift is already reflected in the numbers. Mobile money, once viewed as a basic payment solution, has evolved into a significant economic force. According to the GSMA State of the Mobile Money Industry Report 2025, mobile money contributed about $190 billion to sub-Saharan Africa’s GDP in 2023, up from $150 billion the previous year. It now accounts for more than 5% of GDP in several regions, particularly in West and East Africa. Globally, the sector contributes $720 billion to GDP, growing 12% year-on-year.
For MTN MoMo, this evolution is an opportunity to redefine financial engagement across Africa. With over 283 million active mobile money accounts, $1.1 trillion in annual transactions, and 33% of adults in sub-Saharan Africa using mobile money, the platform has become central to the continent’s digital economy.
Building a connected fintech ecosystem
MTN’s fintech operations now extend far beyond peer-to-peer transfers. Its BankTech vertical provides credit and savings products to SMEs and large corporates, using telco and transactional data to underwrite nano-loans and overdrafts in real time. In the first half of 2025, MTN disbursed $1.3 billion in microloans, averaging about $20 per loan.
MoMo’s merchant network, which now has over 2 million people, is also growing. Between January and June 2025, these merchants processed $9.9 billion in transaction value, underscoring MoMo’s role in supporting everyday commerce, according to Dioum.
Innovation remains a cornerstone of MTN’s fintech strategy. Its MoMo OpenAPI platform, first launched in Uganda, allows fintechs and developers to build new financial services using MTN’s infrastructure. The platform is now live across all 14 markets, fostering a growing ecosystem of local innovators.
The roadblocks to a borderless Africa
Despite these gains, the journey toward a truly connected financial landscape remains incomplete. Dioum acknowledges that over 350 million Africans are still financially excluded, and that sending money across borders remains expensive, with fees averaging over 8% per transaction, among the highest in the world.
“The financial services landscape in Africa is still fragmented,” he noted. “Each country has its own rails, its own wallets, its own standards. Consumers, especially the underserved, are left behind when solutions favour smartphones over feature phones or offline services.”
To bridge this divide, Dioum argues, Africa’s next fintech chapter must focus on depth rather than breadth. That means building solutions that reflect African realities, closing the gender gap, expanding digital literacy, ensuring consumer protection, and designing responsible lending models that promote financial health.
Competing and collaborating in a new fintech era
Africa’s fintech ecosystem is rapidly evolving, with telco-led platforms like MoMo now competing with digital-native fintechs that design hyper-local products. Yet Dioum views this competition as an opportunity. “Disruption is not a threat if we anticipate it,” he said. “It’s an invitation to reinvent ourselves.”
By 2030, MTN expects fintech revenues to shift from basic services like person-to-person payments to more advanced offerings, including Buy Now, Pay (BNPL), MSME financing, investment products, and international payments. The company is re-engineering itself as a digital-first fintech platform, aiming to deliver intuitive, customer-centric experiences.
“In the MoMo of tomorrow, customers are no longer limited to basic transactions,” Dioum said. “They are living fully digital financial lives.”
No one left behind
A key component of MTN’s strategy is ensuring that digital transformation does not leave behind users who rely on Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD), the simple, text-based system used on feature phones. “USSD remains central to deepening financial inclusion,” Dioum explained. “Our motto is to leave no person behind.”
MTN’s vast network of agents, who assist customers with transactions and digital literacy, remains vital to this mission. “They help people who may not speak the language or understand digital interfaces. They bridge the knowledge gap and ensure everyone is included.”
Dioum envisions a financial ecosystem defined by true interoperability within countries and across borders. “We must make cross-border trade and remittances as cheap and simple as local transfers,” he said.
That vision includes scaling digital payments for MSMEs, digitising public services like transport and healthcare, and ensuring that low-cost channels such as USSD, feature phones, and apps continue to coexist. It also calls for collaborative regulation, open data frameworks, and AI-driven fraud detection to build trust and protect consumers at scale.
“The next decade will be shaped by the decisions made today,” Dioum concluded. “Africa’s success will depend on bold, informed collaboration across governments, regulators, and innovators. If we get it right, mobile money will not just empower millions, it will power Africa’s digital progress.”
Mark your calendars! Moonshot by is back in Lagos on October 15–16! Meet and learn from Africa’s top founders, creatives & tech leaders for 2 days of keynotes, mixers & future-forward ideas. Get your tickets now: moonshot..com
