{"id":25651,"date":"2026-03-24T09:01:23","date_gmt":"2026-03-24T09:01:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/?p=25651"},"modified":"2026-03-24T13:37:55","modified_gmt":"2026-03-24T13:37:55","slug":"mobile-money-accounted-for-2-trillion-in-transactions-in-2025-doubling-since-2021-as-active-accounts-continue-to-grow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/press-release\/mobile-money-accounted-for-2-trillion-in-transactions-in-2025-doubling-since-2021-as-active-accounts-continue-to-grow\/","title":{"rendered":"Mobile Money accounted\u00a0for\u00a0$2\u00a0trillion\u00a0in\u00a0 transactions in 2025,\u00a0doubling\u00a0since 2021\u00a0as active accounts\u00a0continue to\u00a0grow\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Monthly active mobile money accounts saw their highest growth since 2021. <\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

24 March 2026, London: <\/strong>More than $2 trillion flowed through mobile money wallets globally in 2025, found the State of the Industry Report on Mobile Money 2026<\/a>, prepared by the GSMA Mobile Money<\/a> programme. This is an important threshold and exemplifies the exponential growth in transaction values the industry has experienced in recent years. It took 20 years to pass $1 trillion in annual transaction values, but just four years for this figure to double. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

From its inception, only 25 years ago, mobile money has now become a mainstream financial service for underserved populations around the world, empowering those without access to traditional banking services and contributing to economic growth in countries where mobile money is present. The report also found that mobile money reached 2.3 billion registered accounts in 2025, growing by 268 million.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vivek\u202fBadrinath, GSMA Director General, comments: \u201cMobile money has become one of the world\u2019s most impactful financial services.<\/em> What began as a simple way to move money has evolved into a global financial ecosystem, reshaping how hundreds of millions of people manage their financial lives. The market is reaching new heights and greater maturity. Adoption and regular use are surging, and value is scaling even faster than volume, with more than $2 trillion flowing through mobile money in 2025 \u2013 doubling from the first trillion in just four years. <\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLooking ahead, the industry\u2019s growing scale and sophistication will bring new opportunities, and new responsibilities. By prioritising interoperability and cross<\/em>\u2011<\/em>border harmonisation; engaging in digital public infrastructure; strengthening consumer protection and fraud controls; and accelerating women\u2019s inclusion and financial health outcomes, we can ensure mobile money continues to provide safe, inclusive and sustainable digital financial services.\u201d<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Regular mobile money usage is growing, supporting financial health  <\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Regular mobile money usage has increased worldwide over the past year, with active 30-day accounts rising by 15% to 593 million. Most new registered and active accounts came from Sub-Saharan Africa, although almost every region where mobile money is offered experienced a rise. This has led to monthly usage of mobile money accounts growing by half a percentage point to 25.7%, the highest it has been since 2021. However, this still leaves almost 75% of accounts inactive monthly, with fraud remaining widespread and transaction taxes often encouraging users to revert to cash in the countries where they\u2019re in effect, negatively impacting financial inclusion.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through more frequent usage, mobile money users can improve their financial health \u2013 the capacity to manage day-to-day financial needs, withstand shocks and invest in the future \u2013 by benefiting from the increasing provision of adjacent services like credit, savings and insurance. The report found that the number of mobile money providers offering insurance increased by one-third in 2025. Mobile-money enabled credit remains the most widely offered adjacent financial service, and this is nearly matched by those offering saving options.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Regulation is supporting mobile money in improving financial inclusion <\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Regulation is playing a key role in expanding the reach of mobile money, the GSMA reports. Over 60% of mobile money providers believe that interoperability, know-your-customer and consumer protection regulations have supported their operations. Although more must be done to support the industry, significant regulatory issues remain \u2013 particularly cross-border data transfer regulations, which 24% of mobile money providers report have hindered their operations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With a supportive regulatory environment, the mobile money industry will be able to continue growing and, in turn, advance financial inclusion, especially among groups that have traditionally lacked access to banking services. This is vital as a wide gender gap persists in mobile money account ownership across seven out of 10 countries surveyed in the report.  Aside from in Ghana, Kenya and Nigeria, women who own a mobile money account are still less likely than men to have used it within the past month. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mobile money fosters innovation for good   <\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to accelerating financial inclusion and supporting improved financial health, mobile money usage is enabling wider social and humanitarian benefits by enabling rapid payouts during crises, particularly in remote regions. However, for these and other use cases to succeed, mobile money needs to be complemented by digital financial literacy initiatives to continue responsible growth across regions and demographics.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

-ENDS-<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

About GSMA<\/strong> 
The GSMA is a global organisation unifying the mobile ecosystem to discover, develop and deliver innovation foundational to positive business environments and societal change. Our vision is to unlock the full power of connectivity so that people, industry, and society thrive. Representing mobile operators and organisations across the mobile ecosystem and adjacent industries, the GSMA delivers for its members across three broad pillars: Connectivity for Good, Industry Services and Solutions, and Outreach. This activity includes advancing policy, tackling today\u2019s biggest societal challenges, underpinning the technology and interoperability that make mobile work, and providing the world\u2019s largest platform to convene the mobile ecosystem at the MWC and M360 series of events. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We invite you to find out more at gsma.com<\/a>  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The report is funded by the Gates Foundation.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Notes for editors: <\/strong>What is mobile money?   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Per the IMF\u2019s Financial Access Survey, mobile money is a pay-as-you-go digital medium of exchange and store of value using mobile phones, facilitated by a network of mobile money agents. It is a financial service primarily offered to its clients by a mobile network operator or another entity that partners with mobile network operators, independent of the traditional banking network. A bank account is not required to use mobile money services \u2013 the only pre-requisite is a basic mobile phone. On the other hand, mobile banking is the use of an application on a mobile device to access and execute traditional banking services, such as check deposits, balance inquiry, and payment transfers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Media Contacts<\/strong> 
GSMA Press Office 
pressoffice@gsma.com<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Monthly active mobile money accounts saw their highest growth since 2021.   24 March 2026, London: More than $2 trillion flowed through mobile money wallets globally in 2025, found the State of the Industry Report on Mobile Money 2026, prepared by the GSMA Mobile Money programme. This is an important threshold and exemplifies the exponential growth in transaction values the industry has experienced in recent years. 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