Standards/momopay-qr
MoMoPay QR
Overview
MoMoPay QR is MTN MoMo's merchant-payment + Scan-to-Pay product, deployed across MTN's pan-African mobile-money markets including Uganda + Benin with continuing expansion [1, 2, [ug-cro]]. The MoMoPay product enables customers to make fast, secure payments at supermarkets, shops, restaurants, fuel stations + many other locations by scanning QR codes printed at merchant premises via the MyMTN App. MTN Uganda's "Scan to Pay" QR-code feature added to MoMoPay extends the original USSD-based merchant-code-payment model (dial 1653#) with smartphone-app-based QR-scan-to-pay.
The structural distinction: MoMoPay represents MTN MoMo's merchant-payment + QR-enhancement within the pan-African MTN Group MoMo platform (72.5M MTN MoMo customers across 14 African markets). Zero customer fees at checkout + 1% individual-merchant fee / 2% business-merchant fee + immediate SMS confirmation to both parties + merchant cash-out options (supplier-payments, salaries, bank transfers, MoMo-agent or ATM physical cash) make MoMoPay's design comprehensive for SME-merchant adoption. MTN MoMo's pan-African MoMoPay rollout parallels Airtel Money Pay's Uganda + multi-country deployment — defining Africa's MNO-led merchant-QR-payment competitive landscape. Uganda specifically + Benin + many other MTN markets benefit from the QR enhancement to legacy USSD-merchant-code infrastructure.
History
Background — MTN MoMo context [2]:
- MTN Group — major pan-African MNO.
- MTN MoMo — 72.5M customers across 14 markets.
- Pre-MoMoPay: USSD-based MoMo Pay merchant codes.
MTN MoMo Pay (USSD merchant codes) [3]:
- Dial 1653# + enter merchant code.
MoMoPay app + QR Scan-to-Pay feature launch [1]:
- MyMTN App QR-scan-to-pay extension.
Pan-African rollout [2]:
- Uganda + Benin + other MTN markets.
Technical specification
MoMoPay QR is MTN MoMo merchant-payment product with USSD + QR Scan-to-Pay [1, 2]:
| Layer | Description |
|---|---|
| Operator | MTN MoMo (per-country subsidiary) |
| Markets | Uganda + Benin + other MTN MoMo markets |
| Currency | Per-country (UGX, XOF, etc.) |
| Channels | USSD (1653#) + MyMTN App + QR Scan-to-Pay |
| Customer fee | Zero |
| Merchant fee | 1% individual, 2% business |
| Confirmation | Immediate SMS to both customer + merchant |
| Merchant payout options | Supplier-payments, salary-payments, bank transfers, MoMo-agent or ATM physical cash |
QR Scan-to-Pay UX flow [1]:
- Customer opens MyMTN App.
- Selects MTN MoMoPay.
- Scans QR code at merchant.
- Enters amount.
- Confirms + completes transaction.
Use cases
Merchant QR payments [1]: Cardinal — Supermarkets, shops, restaurants, fuel stations.
USSD merchant-code payment [3]: Legacy via 1653#.
Zero-customer-fee merchant payments [3]: Adoption-driver.
Merchant cash-out to supplier-payments + salaries + bank transfers [1]: B2B + payroll.
SME-merchant adoption [1]: 1% merchant fee accessible.
Implementations & ecosystem
Operator: MTN MoMo per-country subsidiaries.
Markets: Uganda, Benin, plus other MTN MoMo markets (Côte d'Ivoire, Cameroon, Rwanda, Zambia, etc.).
Companion product: Airtel Money Pay (competing MNO).
Country-specific regulators: Per-country central banks.
Fun facts
- MTN MoMo 72.5M customers across 14 markets: Pan-African scale.
- Zero customer fees: Adoption-friendly pricing.
- 1% individual / 2% business merchant fee: SME-accessible.
- USSD heritage (1653# merchant codes) + smartphone-app QR-scan upgrade.
- Immediate SMS confirmation: Both parties notified.
- Merchant cash-out flexibility: Supplier-payments, salaries, bank, ATM, MoMo-agent.
- MyMTN App QR-scan-to-pay UX: Standard smartphone-QR-payment UX.
- Pan-MTN markets: Uganda + Benin + other MTN MoMo markets.
Comparison
| Feature | MoMoPay QR (MTN — multi-country) | airtel-money-pay (Airtel UG) | M-Pesa Lipa Na M-Pesa (KE) | orange-money-qr (Orange multi-country) | wave-qr (WAEMU disruptor) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operator | MTN MoMo subsidiaries | Airtel Africa subsidiaries | Safaricom | Orange Group | Wave (independent fintech) |
| Type | MNO merchant QR + USSD | MNO merchant QR | MNO merchant QR | MNO merchant QR | Independent fintech QR + flat-fee |
| Customer fee | Zero | Zero | Free | Variable | Free (P2P) |
| Merchant fee | 1% indiv / 2% business | Tiered | Tiered | Tiered | 1% |
Status
Active, expanding across MTN markets [1, 2]:
- MTN MoMo per-country subsidiaries.
- USSD + MyMTN App + QR Scan-to-Pay multi-channel.
- Zero customer fees + 1% / 2% merchant fees.
- Multi-country deployment (UG, BJ + others).
Sources
- 1 MoMoPay — MTN Uganda
- 2 MTN Uganda Scan to Pay — Dignited
- 3 MoMoPay zero-charges — Dignited
- momo-qr How to pay with QR Code — MoMo
- [ug-cro]
reports/countries/UG-uganda.md
Deployments
Found in the following country reports (grep across reports/countries/):
- BJ — BJ-benin.md
- UG — UG-uganda.md