Africa: Mastercard and MTN Group Fintech Collaborate to Boost Mobile Money Ecosystem Across 13 African Markets

Mastercard and MTN Group Fintech have solidified a multi-market agreement aimed at fostering a new era of collaboration to facilitate secure mobile payments, thereby expanding access to the benefits of a cashless digital economy for millions of people and small businesses across Africa.

The partnership leverages Mastercard’s advanced technology and capabilities to support MTN’s goal of becoming Africa’s leading fintech platform for both merchants and consumers. This agreement follows Mastercard and MTN’s recent minority investment into MTN Group Fintech, the digital financial services arm of Africa’s largest mobile network operator, which was finalized this month.

With MTN boasting a subscriber base of 290 million and 60 million active monthly MoMo (Mobile Money) wallets, the agreement will impact 13 markets in Africa, including Benin, Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Eswatini, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria, Republic of Congo, Republic of Guinea, Rwanda, South Africa, Uganda, and Zambia.

Amnah Ajmal, Executive Vice President, Market Development EEMEA, Mastercard, expressed pride in the partnership, emphasizing the potential of mobile money solutions to benefit SMEs through seamless commercial operations, wider payments acceptance, access to affordable credit, and secure digital tools.

Africa, with over 1.3 billion people, sees only about 43% banked, with over 90% of transactions made in cash. However, 45% of the population have mobile money accounts. Over the past five years, Mastercard and MTN have collaborated on various mobile money programs across Africa, promoting financial inclusion and expanding access to global payment platforms.

Serigne Dioum, Group CEO, MTN Fintech, highlighted the mutual vision to bring access, progress, and prosperity to people, emphasizing the partnership’s commitment to superior user experiences, safe transactions, secure remittances, and expanded acceptance.

The collaboration aims to strengthen local infrastructure for digital payments, support potential transaction expansion, and drive financial inclusion through access to assets.

Key highlights of the collaboration include:

1. Global Access for MoMo Wallet Users: A virtual and physical Mastercard companion card will be added to every MoMo wallet, granting access to over 100 million acceptance locations globally, enhancing international scalability for MTN.
2. Empowering SMEs with Payment Solutions: SMEs will gain access to Mastercard’s SME-in-a-Box, enabling small business owners to move their operations online and accept various digital payments, thereby enhancing customer experience and reducing business costs.
3. Expanding Remittance Solutions: Consumers will have expanded access to mobile money remittance services, facilitating both inward and cross-border transactions across Africa, addressing the growing demand for international remittance services.

Mastercard remains committed to its goal of bringing 1 billion people and 50 million SMEs into the global digital economy by 2025. The collaboration with MTN underscores this commitment, striving to provide consumers and SME customers with secure, easy-to-use solutions to drive financial inclusion across Africa and beyond.