Access to mobile money is vital for financial inclusion in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Open application programming interfaces (APIs) play a key role in enabling various transactions like merchant payments and international remittances, fostering growth in the mobile money industry through collaboration among providers, third-party services, and private sector companies.

While some providers still use closed APIs, others are transitioning to open APIs, driven by industry standards like the GSMA Mobile Money API Specification. Open APIs support commercial sustainability by enabling partnerships and revenue diversification. However, there’s a need to better understand the landscape and benefits of mobile money open APIs.

To address this, the GSMA Mobile Money team partnered with Altai Consulting to research the usage and commercial impact of open APIs in the mobile money industry. The report is based on surveys and interviews with senior executives from mobile network operator (MNO)-led and non-MNO-led mobile money providers (MMPs) across 53 countries, as well as technology solution providers and multilateral organisations.