Africa remains the center of global mobile-money scale
The GSMA's 2026 State of the Industry Report estimates that Africa had 1.2 billion registered mobile-money accounts and 347 million active 30-day accounts in 2025.
Africa also processed about USD 1.4 trillion in mobile-money transaction value during 2025.
Africa 2025 snapshot
| Metric | Africa 2025 | YoY growth | Definition |
|---|---|---|---|
| Registered accounts | 1.2 billion | +18% | All registered mobile-money accounts |
| Active 30-day accounts | 347 million | +19% | Accounts active in the last 30 days |
| Transaction volume | 92 billion | +16% | Number of mobile-money transactions |
| Transaction value | USD 1.4 trillion | +27% | Total mobile-money transaction value |
347 million active accounts is not 347 million unique people
GSMA's figure is active 30-day accounts. One person can hold more than one mobile-money account, so it should not be described as 347 million unique African users.
USD 1.4 trillion is ecosystem transaction value, not recurring revenue
The transaction-value figure includes many use cases, not just merchant payments and certainly not only subscriptions.
Use it to establish the scale of mobile-money infrastructure, not as the size of a software market.
Merchant payments are the more relevant business signal
GSMA estimated global mobile-money merchant payments at USD 155 billion in 2025, up about 42% from 2024. Merchant payments were the fastest-growing mobile-money use case in the report.
East Africa accounted for roughly three-quarters of the growth in merchant-payment value in 2025.
Why the East African contribution matters
East Africa combined a large active-account base with strong merchant-payment growth. For recurring businesses, that matters because customers are increasingly using mobile money to pay businesses, not only to transfer money person to person.
What the statistics support
- Mobile money is mainstream financial infrastructure in many African markets.
- Merchant-payment use is growing quickly.
- Regional businesses need country-specific payment strategies rather than one generic Africa checkout.
What the statistics do not prove
- Every mobile-money account holder wants subscription billing.
- Every merchant needs a recurring-payment platform.
- Every wallet supports the same authorization model.
- Regional transaction value equals software TAM.
- A particular provider can onboard a particular merchant.
How to cite the numbers precisely
Use “347 million active 30-day mobile-money accounts in Africa in 2025” rather than “347 million mobile-money users.”
Use “about USD 1.4 trillion in mobile-money transaction value in Africa in 2025” rather than “USD 1.4 trillion in merchant payments.”
Use “USD 155 billion in global mobile-money merchant-payment value in 2025” for the merchant-payment statistic.
Sources
- GSMA State of the Industry Report on Mobile Money 2026: https://www.gsma.com/solutions-and-impact/connectivity-for-good/mobile-for-development/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/The-State-of-the-Industry-Report-2026_English.pdf
- GSMA State of the Industry 2026 landing page: https://www.gsma.com/sotir/
