Skip to content
barcoder

Wallets/mtn-momo

MTN MoMo

0 standards supported

Overview

MTN MoMo is Africa's largest mobile-money platform by active accounts, operated by MTN Group Ltd across 14 African countries (Ghana, Uganda, Rwanda, Côte d'Ivoire, Cameroon, Benin, Nigeria, Zambia, South Africa, DRC, Republic of Congo, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia) [1, 2]. By mid-2025, MTN MoMo reached 283+ million active mobile-money accounts + $1.1 trillion annual transactions + processed $2.1 billion in international remittances in H1 2025 alone. MoMo serves 33% of all adults in sub-Saharan Africa using mobile money — among the broadest financial-inclusion footprints globally. The platform's merchant network handled $9.9 billion in transaction value Jan-Jun 2025 + BankTech vertical disbursed $1.3 billion in microloans averaging $20 per loan.

History

2009 — MTN Mobile Money launches in Uganda [wiki-mtn]: First country deployment.

2010-2020 — Pan-African expansion across MTN markets [2]: 14 countries by end of period.

2022 — MTN Group spin-off of MoMo into separate financial-technology business [2]: Restructuring for valuation + future-listing optionality.

Mid-2025 — $1.1 trillion annual transactions across 283M+ accounts [2]: Substantial pan-African scale.

H1 2025 — $2.1B cross-border remittances + $9.9B merchant transactions + $1.3B BankTech microloans [1]: Comprehensive growth across product verticals.

Ownership & operator

Operating entity: MTN Group Ltd (JSE: MTN) — South African telecommunications conglomerate.

Per-country MoMo subsidiaries: Each MTN-operating country has a local MoMo subsidiary licensed by the country's central bank.

MTN Group major shareholders: Public Investment Corporation (South African state pension fund), Allan Gray, broad public float.

Regulators (per country):

  • Ghana: Bank of Ghana (BoG).
  • Uganda: Bank of Uganda (BoU).
  • Rwanda: National Bank of Rwanda (BNR).
  • Côte d'Ivoire, Benin, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau: BCEAO (WAEMU).
  • Cameroon, Congo-Brazzaville: BEAC (CEMAC).
  • Nigeria: Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
  • Zambia: Bank of Zambia (BoZ).
  • South Africa: SARB.
  • DRC: Banque Centrale du Congo (BCC).

Technical integration

MTN MoMo is pan-African MNO mobile-money platform with USSD + smartphone access [1, 2]:

Layer Description
Channels USSD (*165# or country-specific) + MTN MoMo app (iOS + Android) + MoMo Merchant app
Identifiers Phone number + MoMo Pay code + QR code
Standards momopay-qr (Uganda + Benin), momo-pay-qr (Cameroon) — full QR-payment support
Cross-border MTN MoMo cross-country remittance (intra-MTN markets)
BankTech vertical Microloans averaging $20 per loan (H1 2025 disbursed $1.3B)
Merchant network $9.9B Jan-Jun 2025 transactions
API platform MoMo API for fintech integration

Users & growth

Pan-MTN MoMo (mid-2025) [1, 2]:

  • Active accounts: 283+ million
  • Annual transactions: $1.1+ trillion
  • H1 2025 cross-border remittances: $2.1 billion
  • H1 2025 merchant transactions: $9.9 billion
  • H1 2025 BankTech microloans disbursed: $1.3 billion (averaging $20 per loan)
  • Sub-Saharan Africa adult-population coverage: 33% use mobile money (MoMo is leading platform)

Country footprint: 14 African countries.

Use cases

P2P transfers [2]: Cardinal — phone-number-addressed.

Merchant payments (MoMoPay QR + Merchant codes) [momopay-qr-cro]: Wide-reach across MTN markets.

International remittances (H1 2025 $2.1B) [1]: Cross-border + intra-MTN.

Microloans (BankTech, $1.3B H1 2025) [1]: Average $20 per loan; financial-inclusion focus.

Bill payment + utilities [2]: Per-country services.

Government social-payment disbursement [1]: Enables governments to deliver subsidies + social payments at scale.

Mobile credit + data top-ups [2]: MTN-network + cross-MNO.

Cash-in / cash-out via agent networks [2]: Substantial pan-African agent reach.

Implementations & partners

Operator: MTN Group Ltd + 14 per-country MoMo subsidiaries.

Remittance partners (cross-border inbound): WorldRemit, MoneyGram, Western Union, Wise, Remitly.

Per-country regulators: BoG, BoU, BNR, BCEAO, BEAC, CBN, BoZ, SARB, BCC, BCRG, BNG, CBL (per market).

Major pan-African competitors:

  • [[m-pesa]] (Vodacom + Safaricom) — East African dominance.
  • orange-money-qr (Orange Group) — Francophone West + Central Africa dominance.
  • airtel-money (Airtel Africa) — pan-African competitor.
  • wave-qr (WAEMU disruptor).

Fun facts

  • 2009 launch in Uganda as MTN's first mobile-money market.
  • 14 African countries active — pan-African MNO footprint.
  • 283M+ active accounts — largest active-account base for mobile money in Africa.
  • $1.1 trillion annual transactions — massive scale.
  • 33% of sub-Saharan African adults use mobile money (MoMo is leading contributor).
  • $1.3B microloans disbursed H1 2025 at $20 avg — extreme financial inclusion.
  • $2.1B H1 2025 cross-border remittances — substantial intra-Africa remittance rail.
  • 2022 MoMo spin-off as separate financial-technology business — restructuring for future valuation realization.

Comparison

Feature MTN MoMo [[m-pesa]] (East Africa) orange-money-qr (Francophone Africa) airtel-money (pan-Africa) wave-qr (WAEMU)
Operator MTN Group Vodacom + Safaricom JV Orange Group Airtel Africa Wave Mobile Money Inc.
Countries 14 7 16+ 14 8 WAEMU
Active accounts 283M+ 66.2M 40M 52M 20M+
Annual transactions / volume $1.1T $315B annualized n/a $210B annualized n/a
H1 2025 cross-border $2.1B n/a n/a Major n/a
BankTech microloans $1.3B H1 2025 ($20 avg) M-Shwari + KCB M-Pesa n/a n/a n/a

Status

Active, foundational pan-African mobile money [1, 2]:

  • MTN Group + 14 per-country MoMo subsidiaries.
  • 283M+ active accounts / $1.1T annual transactions (mid-2025).
  • H1 2025 milestones: $2.1B remittances + $9.9B merchant + $1.3B microloans.
  • 33% of sub-Saharan African adults using mobile money — MoMo leading contributor.
  • 2022 MoMo spin-off as separate financial-technology business.

Sources

Source

Biography extracted from mtn-momo.md. See matrix.md for standards-support matrix if present.

source · docs/wallets/mtn-momo/index.md