The global mobile money sector experienced unprecedented growth in 2025, with annual transaction values soaring past $2 trillion. This remarkable milestone, as revealed by GSMA’s latest State of the Industry Report on Mobile Money, signifies that the value of transactions has effectively doubled in just four years. This rapid acceleration is particularly striking given that it took the mobile money industry two decades to achieve its first trillion dollars in annual transaction value, underscoring the recent surge in adoption and usage.

Driving this extraordinary expansion is the African continent, which has firmly established itself as the epicentre of mobile money adoption. Globally, registered mobile money accounts reached 2.3 billion in 2025, marking an increase of 268 million new accounts. Concurrently, monthly active accounts witnessed a robust 15% rise, reaching 593 million, representing the strongest growth recorded since 2021. Sub-Saharan Africa was largely responsible for this surge in both new registered and active accounts, reinforcing its pivotal role in the industry's trajectory.

Several factors have contributed to this rapid growth. A significant increase in both registered and active accounts across Africa, coupled with a burgeoning demand for sophisticated digital financial services such as savings, credit, and insurance, has fueled the expansion. Furthermore, stronger regulatory frameworks, including improved interoperability and Know Your Customer (KYC) guidelines, have provided a supportive environment, enabling providers to scale their operations more efficiently and securely.

African telecommunications giants have been at the forefront of this surge, making substantial investments in fintech as a core strategic pillar. MTN MoMo, for instance, processed an astonishing half a trillion dollars in 2025, according to MTN Group’s financial disclosures, accounting for approximately a quarter of the global mobile money transaction total. The platform boasts 69.5 million monthly active users across its various markets. Safaricom’s M-Pesa, another key player, generated 161.1 billion Kenyan shillings ($1.2 billion) in revenue for the fiscal year ending March 2025, serving 37.1 million users in Kenya and Ethiopia. Vodacom, which includes Safaricom's operations, reported processing $450.8 billion in transactions through its VodaCash and M-Pesa platforms across eight markets during the same period, an 18.3% year-on-year increase. Orange Money has also demonstrated explosive growth, with transaction values more than doubling from $50 billion in 2021 to $178 billion in 2024, now channeling up to $760 million in transfers monthly, while Orange Bank Africa served 1.7 million customers in 2024.

Despite this impressive growth, the GSMA report highlighted persistent challenges. A significant portion of registered accounts, nearly 75%, remain inactive each month. Issues such as fraud and transaction taxes in certain regions continue to encourage users to revert to cash, hindering full digital adoption. A notable gender gap also persists, with women in seven out of ten surveyed countries being less likely than men to have used their mobile money accounts within the past month. Regulatory landscapes, while largely supportive in areas like interoperability, KYC, and consumer protection for over 60% of providers, present challenges with cross-border data transfer regulations, which nearly a quarter of providers reported as hindering their operations.

Looking ahead, the mobile money industry is actively expanding its role beyond basic payments into broader financial services. The GSMA report indicated a one-third increase in mobile money providers offering insurance in 2025, alongside continued expansion of credit and savings products. To ensure responsible and sustainable growth, the industry body advocates for the implementation of comprehensive digital financial literacy programs, empowering users to leverage these services effectively and securely.