Mobile money is the retail default, not an alternative
Across much of sub-Saharan Africa the phone is the bank account. Mobile money is a phone-number-based wallet: users deposit cash with an agent, then store, send and spend value without needing a bank account at all. The industry body GSMA reported that global mobile money transaction value passed two trillion dollars in 2025, roughly doubling in four years, with sub-Saharan Africa accounting for the bulk of new registered and active accounts. Individual operators are large in their own right: MTN MoMo reported processing hundreds of billions of dollars in 2025 with tens of millions of monthly active users, M-Pesa remains dominant in Kenya and Ethiopia, and Orange Money's transaction value grew several-fold between 2021 and 2024. For a merchant, the implication is simple: in Kenya, Ghana, Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia, Senegal and Côte d'Ivoire, mobile money is not a niche method to add later. It is the method.
- Treat mobile money as the primary checkout method in most sub-Saharan African markets.
- Do not assume one operator covers a region; the leading wallet differs country by country.
- Remember that buyers top up with cash at agents, so payment is not dependent on banking.
- Check the leading operator per country rather than planning a single Africa-wide integration.
Who runs what, country by country
There is no single African mobile money network, and the biggest planning mistake a foreign merchant makes is assuming there is. M-Pesa, run by Safaricom in Kenya and by Vodacom in several other markets, is the reference product in East Africa. MTN MoMo is the largest pan-African platform and is the leading wallet in Ghana, Uganda, Côte d'Ivoire, Cameroon and Rwanda, among others. Airtel Money operates across many of the same markets and is frequently the second wallet. Orange Money leads in several Francophone West African markets. Wave has grown quickly in Senegal and Côte d'Ivoire with a lower-fee model. In Nigeria the picture differs again, with bank transfer, USSD and local wallets carrying more of the load. Build a per-country list before you integrate anything. A per-country view is the only reliable basis for an integration plan.
- Map the leading one or two wallets for each country before choosing a provider.
- Check whether the operator in your target market is MTN, Airtel, Orange, Safaricom or a local challenger.
- Expect to support at least two operators per country for realistic coverage.
- Re-check the list annually, because market positions shift quickly.
How a non-African merchant connects
You do not contract with Safaricom or MTN directly unless you are a substantial local business with a local entity. The practical route is an aggregator or pan-African payments provider that already holds the operator integrations, exposes them through one API, and handles the local licensing. Providers such as Flutterwave and Paystack sit on the pan-African side; local processors such as Pesapal in East Africa and Hubtel in Ghana sit on the domestic side. What you are buying is their operator agreements plus their regulatory standing. Ask which countries and which operators are actually live on your account rather than on the provider's website, because coverage lists and account entitlements are not the same thing. Ask whether online push payment is supported, since that is the flow an e-commerce checkout needs.
- Ask for the list of countries and operators live on your specific account, not the marketing list.
- Confirm that online push payment, where the buyer approves on their handset, is supported.
- Ask which licensed entity in each country settles your transactions.
- Ask whether USSD fallback is available for buyers without smartphones or data.
Licensing, KYC and the agent network
Mobile money is a regulated activity in most African markets, typically supervised by the central bank, and e-money issuance is licensed. Kenya's Central Bank of Kenya and Ghana's Bank of Ghana both license and supervise the sector, and user identity verification is a hard requirement rather than a nice-to-have. Agents are the physical layer underneath: hundreds of thousands of locations across the continent where users convert cash to e-money and back. That network is what makes the system work for people outside formal banking, and it also means cash-out is a real consideration: if you are disbursing refunds or payouts to users, they will often collect as cash at an agent. Account inactivity is a genuine issue across the industry, with a large share of registered accounts unused in any given month, so do not size a market on registration numbers alone.
- Confirm which licensed entity holds the e-money relationship in each market you enter.
- Expect user KYC to be a hard requirement enforced by the operator, not by you.
- Plan for agent cash-out if you ever need to disburse funds to users rather than collect them.
- Size markets on active users rather than registered accounts.
Interoperability and card-to-wallet links
Interoperability has improved substantially. National instant payment switches now connect wallets to bank accounts in several markets: Ghana's GhIPSS links mobile money to bank accounts, Kenya has PesaLink for bank-to-bank instant transfers, and similar switches exist elsewhere. Bank-to-wallet and wallet-to-bank flows are now broadly comparable in value across the industry, which indicates a genuinely integrated system rather than a set of closed loops. Regional interoperability is advancing too, though more slowly, and cross-border data transfer rules remain an obstacle that a significant minority of providers say hinders their operations. Card networks have also been building links to the major operators, which matters if you want to accept from international cardholders while settling into the local ecosystem. Ask your provider which national switches it actually connects to in each market you plan to enter.
- Check whether your target market has a national switch connecting wallets and banks.
- Ask whether the provider supports wallet-to-bank transfers as well as collections.
- Treat cross-border interoperability as improving but not yet dependable for a launch plan.
- Ask whether card-to-wallet acceptance is relevant for your customer mix.
FX, repatriation and what to ask
Getting money out is often harder than getting it in. Several African currencies are volatile and some markets apply exchange controls or documentation requirements on outbound transfers, which means the repatriation path should be confirmed before launch rather than discovered at the first payout. Ask what currency you collect in, what currency you are settled in, who performs the conversion and at what reference rate, and how long payouts take. Ask what documentation your receiving bank will require, because a payout that arrives without the right paperwork can sit in limbo. Then ask the fee questions: transaction fee per operator, payout fee, FX margin, refund handling, any monthly minimum or setup fee, and whether a rolling reserve applies to your category. Public pricing is only a first filter. Actual pricing changes with country, industry, volume, settlement currency, integration method and contract terms. Confirm against the provider's official pricing page or a written quote before you go live.
- Confirm the repatriation route and documentation with your own bank before launching.
- Ask who converts, at what reference rate, and at what moment the rate is locked.
- Ask for per-operator pricing, because fees differ between wallets and countries.
- Ask about refunds specifically, since a mobile money payment usually needs a manual credit process.
Questions merchants ask
Can a merchant outside Africa accept M-Pesa?
Yes, through an aggregator rather than directly. M-Pesa and the other operator wallets are licensed services, and direct integration normally requires a local entity and an operator agreement. Pan-African providers such as Flutterwave and Paystack, and local processors such as Pesapal, hold those relationships and expose the wallets through a single integration, settling to your offshore account.
Which mobile money operator should I integrate first?
It depends entirely on the country. M-Pesa leads in Kenya and parts of East Africa, MTN MoMo leads in Ghana, Uganda, Côte d'Ivoire, Cameroon and Rwanda, Airtel Money is a strong second in many of those markets, and Orange Money leads in several Francophone West African countries. Build a per-country list and cover the top two operators rather than picking one operator for the continent.
What is the difference between a push payment and a USSD payment?
A push payment is initiated by the merchant or provider and approved by the buyer on their handset, which is the flow an online checkout needs and the smoother experience. USSD works through a short code dialled from any phone, including basic feature phones with no data connection, so it reaches buyers without smartphones. Ask your provider which of the two it supports in each market.
How do refunds work with mobile money?
There is usually no automatic reversal, so plan a manual credit process. A completed mobile money payment is final in the same way an instant bank transfer is, which means issuing a refund requires you or your provider to send funds back to the buyer's wallet number. Ask your provider whether it supports payouts to wallets, since a provider that only collects cannot refund you through the rail.
Is mobile money interoperable with bank accounts?
Increasingly yes. National switches link wallets and banks in several markets, Ghana's GhIPSS and Kenya's PesaLink being two examples, and bank-to-wallet and wallet-to-bank flows are now broadly comparable in value industry-wide. Cross-border interoperability is advancing more slowly, and cross-border data transfer rules remain a reported obstacle for a minority of providers.
How do I get my money out of an African market?
Through your provider's settlement arrangement, typically converted to a hard currency and paid to your offshore account. The path matters: several currencies are volatile and some markets apply exchange controls or documentation requirements on outbound transfers. Confirm the repatriation route and the paperwork your receiving bank will need before you launch, and ask who converts and at what reference rate.