(Ecofin Agency) - Sub-Saharan Africa remains the region of the world where Mobile Money activity is the most dynamic. Last year, the region recorded 23.8 billion transactions out of 37.1 billion worldwide, according to the World Association of Telephone Operators (GSMA). This represents 64.15% of the global transaction volume, up 19.7% YoY.

This part of Africa also dominated the global Mobile Money market in terms of the financial value of transactions. The region saw $456.3 billion of cash transferred over the period, up 27.5% YoY. This represents 66.12% of the global financial value of Mobile Money transactions recorded by GSMA, which amounted to $690.1 billion.

This global financial value was generated by 1.04 billion accounts using 290 mobile payment services. In Sub-Saharan Africa, the number is 469 million accounts (annual growth of 11.9%) using 144 mobile payment services; that is 45.1% of accounts for 68.9% of payment services registered in Sub-Saharan Africa compared to the world level.

For the year 2020, this number could increase further due to the coronavirus which has forced several countries to promote mobile payment for a large part of financial transactions to avoid the spread of the virus through physical exchange.