The number of mobile money subscribers rocketed by 27.6 percent from 12.7 million in 2023 to 16.2 million in 2024, transacting K19.5 trillion, figures from the Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) have shown.
According to a 2024 National Payment Systems Report released yesterday, the increase in the number of subscribers to mobile money services reflects the popularity of the service to facilitate the delivery of various payment needs, including the government’s social cash transfer programmes.
“This is a significant leap compared to 2012, during the inception of mobile money, when the total number of subscribers was just about 185, 758,” the report says.
The report, however, notes that the distribution of subscribers remains skewed towards males who constitute 58.3 percent of the total number of subscribers, while females account for 41.7 percent.
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According to RBM, the gender gap slightly narrowed down to 16.6 percent in 2024 from 17.4 percent in 2023, a development the bank has described as good progress, although the gap remains high.
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“The above increase in subscription notwithstanding, the activity rate for mobile money subscribers remains low at 46.6 percent over a 30- day period (from 50.6 percent in 2023) and at 59.0 percent over a 90- day period (from 63.9 percent in 2023).
“The drop in activity rates means that fewer registered mobile money customers used the service during the period under review, compared to 2023. The bank will, therefore, champion the implementation of awareness activities to ensure increased usage of mobile money services in the country,” the report says.
In the year 2024, the volume of mobile money services rose by 40.4 percent to 1.8 billion, up from 1.3 billion in 2023.
Similarly, the value of mobile money transactions almost doubled, jumping by 80.9 percent to K19.5 trillion from K10.8 trillion in 2023.
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“However, despite the significant rise in usage, the use cases remain limited, with airtime top-ups dominating at 43.6 percent of total transactions processed, followed by cash in/out at 33.0 percent during the year under review.
“Conversely, person-to-person and merchant payment transactions accounted for only 9.1 percent and 6.9 percent, respectively, of the volume of transactions processed during the reviewed period.
“The growing trend of cash usage presents a challenge to the government’s digitalisation agenda and initiatives aimed at fostering faster and more convenient digital payment options,” RBM says.
For mobile money transactions to be easily facilitated, mobile money agents form a fundamental part of the mobile money ecosystem and play an important role in enabling and delivering mobile money services to the country.
In 2024, the number of registered mobile money agents surged by 48.4 percent to 491,591, from 331,317 in 2023.
Similarly, the number of active 90-day mobile money agents increased by 38.3 percent to 224,612 in 2024, from 162,000 in 2023.
The 2023 FinScope Consumer Malawi Survey, whose results were released mid last year, observed that money services are at the forefront of financial access in both urban and rural areas, and among females and males.
Lilongwe-based mobile money customer Annet Banda said she prefers transacting via mobile money because it is convenient.
Malawi has two main mobile money platforms, namely Airtel Money and TNM Mpamba.
