The sub-Saharan mobile money market is set to provide telcos and banks with as much as $1.5 billion in fees by 2019, according to research from the Boston Consulting Group (BCG).
The sub-Saharan mobile money market is set to soar
Banks and MNOs can capitalise on growth opportunities because with the exception of M-Pesa-dominated Kenya, there are no countries in the region that have seen one dominant player establish itself.
The adoption of mobile money services in sub-Saharan Africa is quickly gaining traction and the opportunity for further growth is huge, according to BCG, which estimates that by 2019, there will be 400 million mobile phone owners in the region with an income of at least $500 a year. However, just 150 million of these consumers will have a traditional bank account, leaving 250 million open to mobile money providers.
Up until now, peer-to-peer services and bill payments have dominated the mobile financial services market in Africa, and BCG estimates that fees from these activities, along with deposit income, could reap $1.5 billion for providers in 2019. BCG states that the biggest opportunities for banks and telcos are in the provision of new products such as loans, savings accounts, mortgages and insurance that will become more attractive to people as their wealth increases.
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