• Mobile money and online banking are driving digital finance growth across Africa.
• Interoperable systems in Ghana, Nigeria, and Kenya show strong adoption and economic impact.
• Challenges remain with digital access, cybersecurity, and regulatory harmonization.

Africa’s financial sector is undergoing rapid change with the rise of mobile money and digital banking. At the center of this shift, interoperable instant payments -systems that enable transactions across banks and mobile operators- are emerging as a key driver of financial inclusion and regional trade.

According to the World Bank, about 350 million adults in sub-Saharan Africa remain unbanked. Mobile money has helped bridge part of this gap, with 44% of adults holding an account in 2024, compared with the global average of 29%, the latest Global Findex 2025 report shows.

Several countries have taken major steps to build interoperable payment systems. In Ghana, the GhIPSS platform connects banks and mobile operators, handling an average of 17.9 million instant transactions per month since December 2022, involving more than 55 financial institutions.

In Nigeria, the NIBSS platform processed interbank instant payments worth 600,360 billion nairas (around $390 billion) in 2023. In Kenya, M-Pesa continues to dominate, accounting for nearly 55% of GDP, according to the Fintech Association of Kenya.

More recently, Sierra Leone, the Comoros, Somalia, and Algeria have announced national interoperable payment systems, adding to the continent’s growing financial infrastructure.

These efforts also support the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) by making cross-border transactions cheaper and faster. The Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) reflects this trend, enabling central banks and financial institutions to make real-time payments in local currencies, lowering costs and delays while deepening integration. According to the GSMA, mobile money transactions in sub-Saharan Africa reached $190 billion in 2023, or 4.5% of regional GDP, up from $150 billion in 2022.

Challenges ahead

Interoperable instant payment systems are boosting financial inclusion, lowering transfer costs, encouraging fintech and e-commerce innovation, and strengthening regional integration. They also help states track financial flows and secure transactions, reinforcing digital sovereignty.

But hurdles remain. The digital divide is still wide, especially in rural areas with weak Internet coverage. Cybersecurity risks such as fraud, hacking, and data theft continue to undermine trust. And the lack of harmonized regulations slows the rollout of cross-border solutions.

To unlock the full potential, African countries need to expand digital infrastructure, step up cybersecurity, train populations in digital finance, and move toward unified regulation. With smartphone penetration in sub-Saharan Africa projected to reach 87% by 2030, these initiatives could bring millions into the financial system, support intra-African trade, and speed the transition toward an integrated digital economy.

While millions of Africans have embraced mobile money for savings, its adoption for credit remains modest. This is primarily due to the persistence of informal lending practices, even as new innovations begin to emerge.

Mobile money has become a transformative force for financial inclusion in Africa, yet its full potential remains untapped. While the service has excelled at providing a platform for savings, it has made little headway in providing widespread access to credit. The Global Findex Database 2025, published by the World Bank, shows the share of African adults with a mobile money account soared from 27% to 40% in just three years, reaching the highest rate globally. The report found that 23% of African adults saved using their mobile accounts in 2024, nearly double the rate of 13% in 2021.

The report also shows that 35% of African adults overall reported saving digitally or through traditional institutions. In countries with large mobile money economies like Ghana, Kenya, Senegal, and Uganda, more than 50% of adults use mobile money for savings, signaling a massive adoption of the service.

Mobile money is more accessible than traditional banking networks, making it easier to save small amounts and providing flexible deposits and withdrawals through local agents. This has led to more inclusive adoption, especially in rural and informal settings.

Savings Succeed, Credit Stalls

Despite the success of savings, access to credit through mobile money remains very limited. In 2024, only 7% of African adults borrowed through their mobile accounts, a figure that has remained stable since 2021. By contrast, nearly 59% of adults across the continent used some form of credit, though primarily through informal means like family or savings clubs.

In major mobile money markets like Kenya, Ghana, and Uganda, 22% to 32% of adults have borrowed through a mobile operator. However, these loans are typically small, short-term, and often carry high interest rates, which limits their overall economic impact.

Several factors explain this disconnect. According to the World Bank, regulatory authorities remain cautious, fearing over-indebtedness or fraud. The organization also points to business models that favor less-risky deposits and payments over credit.

The report also reveals that customers themselves are hesitant to borrow through platforms not well known for lending due to distrust, limited financial literacy, or overly strict eligibility simulators.

Innovations and Lingering Limits

While some specialized fintech and mobile platforms are gradually expanding their offerings through alternative credit scoring and nano-loans for micro-entrepreneurs, a mass-market for inclusive digital credit has yet to emerge. The report notes that countries with close cooperation among mobile operators, banks, and regulators, such as Kenya, are making progress, but elsewhere, advancement is slow.

The challenge now is to pair access to digital savings with policies for financial literacy, consumer protection, and regulatory innovation. The goal is to advance credit access without making already vulnerable populations more fragile.

For the World Bank, mobile money's full potential in Africa will only be unlocked when it contributes as much to productive investment as it does to savings security. This requires building customer trust and analytical skills regarding digital credit offers, improving interoperability between services and institutions, and adapting credit to local economic realities while minimizing associated risks.

Melchior Koba

• Burundi deepens collaboration with Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Benin on tax digitalization
• OBR targets simplified tax processes, better data management, and online platforms
• National rollout of electronic billing and integrated tax systems underway

Burundi’s tax authority (OBR) is accelerating its digital modernization efforts by learning from other African countries. Late last week, the OBR hosted two days of discussions with Sierra Leone’s National Revenue Authority (NRA), known for successfully implementing a digital tax collection system.

This initiative follows a similar exchange organized about a week earlier with Liberia’s Revenue Authority (LRA). Over two days, LRA experts shared their experience with Burundi’s e-KORI project, which focuses on the digitalization of internal tax collection. OBR praised Liberia’s success in building an effective digital tax system following years of civil conflict. The OBR also confirmed ongoing cooperation with Benin on similar reforms.

Burundi’s digital tax strategy aims to simplify processes for taxpayers, automate revenue management and collection, and improve data reliability. One of the most notable milestones so far has been the launch of an online filing and payment platform in 2023. The OBR website also provides services such as anonymous reporting of corruption, document verification, and access to regulatory information.

The government is now working on implementing an integrated digital system for managing internal taxes and non-tax revenues. A tender for this project was launched on May 5. At the same time, the OBR is stepping up efforts to promote the use of electronic billing machines among taxpayers.

The OBR’s digital transformation plan aligns with international standards. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) emphasizes that digitalizing tax administrations reduces the cost and complexity of paying taxes. “When the process is tedious, it creates significant time and financial costs for taxpayers. At the macro level, this can lead to major productivity and resource losses,” says the OECD.

However, the OBR recognizes that technology alone is not enough. The authority highlights the need for a clear and consistent tax framework, stronger public awareness of tax compliance, and improved monitoring of how taxpayers use digital tools such as billing machines and online platforms.

Beyond digital systems, access to technology remains a critical challenge. For example, according to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), nearly 90% of Namibians did not use the Internet in 2023, and around 80% of the population lacked mobile phones.

The OBR believes improving access to digital infrastructure will be key to ensuring that taxpayers across Burundi can fully benefit from its digital tax services.

• Madagascar launches e-Ariary pilot to modernize payments
• Designed for mobile phones and offline use, the currency supports everyday transactions
• The trial involves banks, public services, vendors, and more.

Madagascar's central bank launched a 10-month pilot program for its digital currency, the e-Ariary, on Friday, May 23, aiming to modernize the financial system and boost inclusion across the island nation. The initiative seeks to reduce reliance on physical cash, lower transaction costs, improve financial traceability, and expand access to financial services, particularly in rural areas.

"We hope that, by the end of this process, the use of banknotes will decline, as managing them is very expensive for the Central Bank," said Aivo Andrianarivelo, Governor of the Central Bank of Madagascar. He noted that the 100 Ariary note, equivalent to about $0.022, does not even cover its printing cost and has a short lifespan of approximately six months, requiring frequent replacement that Madagascar cannot undertake domestically.

The e-Ariary is designed for broad accessibility, usable via smartphones, basic mobile phones, and offline methods such as QR codes, smart cards, and point-of-sale terminals. Its primary applications will include everyday transactions like merchant payments, transportation fares, salary disbursements, and social transfers, with an emphasis on affordability for all users.

The digital currency is intended to complement, rather than replace, existing financial tools, particularly mobile money platforms, which will continue operating in parallel. In 2023, Madagascar recorded over 10 million mobile money accounts, significantly outnumbering the 3 million traditional bank accounts. Mobile money platforms facilitated nearly 342 million transactions totaling 38,161 billion Ariary (approximately $8.5 billion USD), underscoring the increasing prominence of digital services in the country's financial landscape.

The pilot program will rigorously test the technical infrastructure, transaction security, and priority use cases of the e-Ariary. It will also assess the digital currency’s broader socio-economic impact. A diverse group of stakeholders is participating in the trial, including commercial banks, microfinance institutions, state-run entities such as the utility company Jirama, market vendors, the Treasury, and the tax administration.

Central to the rollout will be extensive user awareness campaigns, as public understanding and confidence are considered vital for the successful adoption of the e-Ariary. If successful, the project is expected to usher in a new era of digital payments in Madagascar, establishing a more inclusive, transparent, and interoperable financial ecosystem while supporting ongoing efforts to formalize the economy.

By Samira Njoya,

Editing by Sèna D. B. de Sodji