Mobile Money Hits $1.4tn in Transaction Value And Boosts GDP By 1.5%
This is far more than just payment but a geopolitical force!
Mobile money is a GDP booster! Surprised? Don’t be!
Countries with mobile money systems added $600 bn to GDP, which is the equivalent of increasing GDP by around 1.5%! That’s good for everyone!
The mobile money-GDP relationship is clear: “Between 2013 and 2022, a 10-percentage point rise in mobile money adoption was found to have increased GDP by 0.4% -1.0 %.”
This GSMA report is an eye-opener and shows the good mobile money can do for society.
You can’t achieve this with cash, more ATMs, or better branch banking. The only way to achieve near-universal access to money is through mobile, and that’s a fact.
👉TAKEAWAYS
🔹Between 2013 and 2022, the total gross domestic product (GDP) in countries with a mobile money service was $600 billion higher than it would have been without mobile money. This is the equivalent of mobile money increasing GDP by around 1.5%
🔹Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest levels of global mobile money adoption, mobile money had increased gross domestic product in the region by more than $150 billion or 3.7% between 2013 and 2022.
🔹 Mobile money adoption and active use continued to grow but at a slower rate(12%) than in previous years (15% in 2022 and 19% in 2021.)
🔹 In 2023, mobile money transaction volumes grew faster (23%) than transaction values (14%) - leading to a drop in average transaction values.
🔹Mobile money boosts financial inclusion and digital access, serving as a catalyst for achieving 15 out of 17 United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), up from 13 in 2019.
🔹Over the past few years, West Africa has emerged as mobile money’s new powerhouse. In 2023, over a third of new registered and active 30-day accounts globally were from West Africa.
🔹Agent networks continued to grow (22%), driven by increased agents in Sub-Saharan Africa.
🔹International remittances and merchant payments were among the fastest-growing mobile money use cases in 2023.
🔹More mobile money providers are offering more adjacent financial services, such as credit, savings and insurance, compared to 2022.
🔹Mobile money has enabled more women to save money than other financial services.
🔹Many mobile money providers have seen an increase in average revenue per user – from $2.2 in September 2022 to $3.2 in June 2023 – leading to higher profitability.
👊STRAIGHT TALK👊
Mobile money is bigger than you think.
While its contribution to GDP and growth in countries is impressive, another facet of these programs, their geopolitical impact must be examined.
Mobile money systems are increasingly used for international remittances and other cross-border transfers.
They are now a geopolitical tool binding nations together in trade that were once separated by uncooperative banking systems.
Mobile money allows for greater economic cooperation and builds trade where none existed, and as such, it is a geopolitical force.
Nations that expand cross-border mobile money flows can use them as a tool for economic development and building alliances,
This is another excellent example that shows how fintech is now a geopolitical player!
Thoughts?
Thank you to all my subscribers who have been sharing Cashless! You are now the No. 1 driver of subscriptions, and prove that word of mouth still works better than X!
Join the community by subscribing! You’ll be glad you did!
Is WeChat Pay considered a mobile money system? When I was traveling in China four months ago, I owed my friend in China 10,000 RMB. My friend in Canada sent me the amount in RMB through WeChat Pay, and I promptly paid my friend in China. The entire process was completed within a few minutes while I was still in China. If I were to send the money from Canada via a wire transfer, it would take two business days and incur wiring fees of $50 CAD.