The number of registered mobile money accounts globally rose by 13% in 2022, while total mobile money transaction values grew to $1.26 trillion
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A recent State of the Industry Report on Mobile Money 2023 research by the GSMA showed that both the number of mobile money accounts and the volumes of transactions facilitated by the technology grew faster than previously predicted last year.
The actual number of new mobile money accounts registered in 2022 rose by 13% from 1.4bn in 2021 to 1.6bn in 2022. It exceeds 2019 forecasts by 400 million. These accounts were not only opened but also actively used. Thus, the number of accounts active on a 30-day basis grew by 13% year-on-year to reach 401 million in 2022. Accounts, active on a 90-day basis, amounted to 586 million.
Besides, daily mobile money transaction values in 2022 reached $3.45 billion, nearly $0.5 billion higher than was predicted in 2021.
P2P transfers and cash-in/cash-out transactions remained the most popular use cases for mobile money services. However, paying bills with the help of mobile money was growing the fastest. Such transactions increased 36% year on year. Additionally, international remittances also grew significantly by 28%, says the report.
Meanwhile, the total mobile money transaction values grew by 22% from $1 trillion to $1.26 trillion over the year.
First enhanced by the pandemic, mobile money services have shown resilient growth lately, enabling millions of unbanked and underbanked people in emerging economies to access digital financial services. In 2021, Sub-Saharan Africa saw the most significant increase in mobile money.
As the service evolves, value-added services will become key differentiators. The earlier report by Juniper Research states that leveraging data analytics in mobile money is emerging as a key opportunity. This enables providers to offer smart savings products and precisely manage the risks of their lending operations.
