M-Pesa hits $365 billion milestone
The M-Pesa platform processed US$364.8 billion of transaction value over the last twelve months, up 13%, cementing its top position in the African fintech space.
M-Pesa, jointly owned by Vodacom Group and Safaricom, is Africa’s most successful mobile money platform and has become a key revenue stream for both telcos.
Vodacom Group today reported its annual performance for the year ended March, saying in the 12 months international M-Pesa revenue was up 31.1% to R6.5 billion, contributing 24.6% of service revenue.
Shameel Joosub, Vodacom Group CEO, says growth was supported by a strong performance in the DRC, with Tanzania’s performance recovering as levies on mobile money were reduced during the year.
“The underlying momentum of M-Pesa reflects our ongoing product enhancements in both the consumer and merchant segments, supported by M-Pesa Africa. In the consumer segment we launched new insurance, term-loan and group-savings products, scaled international money transfer and enhanced our M-Pesa app during the year,” says Joosub.
In Tanzania, he says: “Loans granted via our lending product ‘Songesha’ more than doubled to R8.2 billion in the year. To grow and diversify the M-Pesa ecosystem, we also accelerated our merchant strategy more than doubling the number of active merchants to 196 000.”
Commenting on the operating licence granted to M-Pesa last week in Ethiopia, Joosub says it is an important milestone for the group as it accelerates its “ambition to transform lives in the country as we seek to connect every Ethiopian to the global digital economy.”
M-Pesa is Africa’s most successful mobile payment service. Launched in Kenya in 2007, it has since evolved to become a major driver of financial inclusion with more than 50 million customers across seven countries.
M-Pesa processes more than 61 million transactions a day, making it Africa’s largest fintech provider, and it has attracted 42 000 external developers to create additional services for the platform.