Launching mobile money, country by country

Côte d'Ivoire

Côte d'Ivoire is one of the busiest mobile money markets in West Africa. E-money is regulated across the eight UEMOA countries by the BCEAO, so one licence route works in all of them.

Senegal

Senegal has one of the most competitive mobile money markets in Africa, with low transfer fees and strong merchant use. E-money is regulated by the BCEAO under rules shared by the eight UEMOA countries.

Cameroon

Cameroon is the largest mobile money market in the CEMAC zone. Payment services are regulated across the six CEMAC countries by COBAC and the BEAC.

DR Congo

The DR Congo is a large and fast-growing market where most adults have no bank account. E-money is regulated by the Banque Centrale du Congo (BCC), and wallets commonly hold both US dollars and Congolese francs.

Burundi

Burundi's mobile money market is small but growing, with room for banks and MFIs to bring their customers onto wallets. Payment services and e-money are regulated by the Banque de la République du Burundi (BRB).

Rwanda

Rwanda has a clear, modern rulebook for payment services and a regulator that encourages fintechs. The National Bank of Rwanda (BNR) licenses e-money issuers and payment service providers.

Kenya

Kenya is the reference market for mobile money. Almost every adult uses it, so a new service must be clearly better for a specific group of customers. The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) authorises e-money issuers and payment service providers.

Tanzania

Tanzania has several large mobile money operators and full interoperability between them. The Bank of Tanzania (BoT) licenses e-money issuers and runs the national instant payment system, TIPS.

Uganda

Uganda has a large mobile money market led by two operators, and a payments law from 2020 that opened the market to new licensed providers. The Bank of Uganda (BoU) licenses e-money issuers as payment service providers.

Nigeria

Nigeria is Africa's largest fintech market, with instant bank transfers everywhere and fast-growing wallets and agent networks. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) licenses mobile money operators, payment service banks and other payment companies.

Ethiopia

Ethiopia opened its payments market in recent years and mobile money is growing fast. The National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE) licenses payment instrument issuers.

Angola

Angola has a strong card and ATM network through EMIS, and mobile money is growing fast. The Banco Nacional de Angola (BNA) licenses payment institutions under the 2020 payment system law.