[For one example], Tanzania has witnessed unprecedented uptake of mobile financial services (MFS) in the span of five years. After a humble beginning, when less than 1% of the adult population had access to mobile financial services in 2008, 90% had access by September 2013 – an exponential increase. Likewise, active usage has shown similar improvement, with 43% of the adult population actively using this service in September 2013.” – GSM Association reports
Many AfricaFocus readers will be aware of the rapid expansion of mobile money payments in Kenya (M-Pesa). But the trend is not limited to Kenya, as documented by new reports by the GSMA, the worldwide association of mobile phone operators. While expansion is uneven, mobile phone companies in other countries in Africa and on other continents as well are finding this a profitable and rapidly growing business. The expansion also indicates that more and more consumers are finding it a viable alternative to dealing with conventional banks.
This AfricaFocus Bulletin contains brief excerpts from the GSMA annual survey for 2013, as well as from a report focusing specifically on Tanzania, where the national bank has played a key role in working with mobile operators to expand mobile financial services.
For much additional data and analysis, visit the GSMA web page on these developments at http://www.gsma.com/mmu
A new feature that some operators are now introducing is mobile payments across borders, to date between only a few neighboring countries – see http://tinyurl.com/nbmjme