MoMo PSB, the payment service subsidiary of MTN Nigeria, reported a remarkable 53.1% year-over-year surge in active wallet users, reaching 3.6 million in the third quarter of 2023.
This financial update was disclosed by MTN in its Q3 statement released on Monday.
When we look at the quarter-over-quarter figures, this growth translates to a 16% increase compared to the 3.1 million active wallets in the previous quarter.
This surge in MoMo wallets significantly contributed to MTN’s fintech business during the quarter, making MoMo users now represent 40.6% of its fintech customer base.
However, it’s worth noting that the number of active MoMo wallet users remains relatively low compared to the total number of registered users, which stood at 27.9 million by the end of Q3.
MTN emphasized that MoMo PSB has expanded its agent network, which now boasts over 293,000 agents, marking a substantial 55.7% year-on-year growth and bringing its services closer to the people.
Additionally, the PSB has successfully onboarded 197,000 merchants since initiating its merchant ecosystem in March 2023.
Regarding MTN’s fintech revenue performance, CEO Karl Toriola expressed, “Our fintech business continued to gain traction, recovering from the slowdown in H1.
Fintech revenue increased by 5.6% as we expanded the adoption of our core fintech services, including wallet and MoMo agent business.
Although our fintech active user base declined by 20.4% year-on-year, it rebounded impressively by 27.2% quarter-on-quarter, reaching 8.9 million.”
Toriola attributed the YoY decline to an earlier slowdown in activity on the over-the-top (OTC) platform due to cash shortages in Q1.
Nonetheless, efforts to rebuild the base are yielding positive results, with a remarkable 25.5% growth in OTC users compared to Q1 2023.
Furthermore, MTN’s digital revenue for Q3 exhibited robust growth, surging by 55.4%, driven by the increased adoption of digital products and a 67% growth in the active user base, now totaling 16.1 million.
The company noted that the monthly active users of Ayoba, its instant messaging platform, continued to grow steadily, with the addition of over 2.8 million users, bringing the active user count to approximately 8 million.
Karl Toriola emphasized that MTN is well-positioned to stimulate the growth of active wallets and merchant ecosystems through consumer education and commercial initiatives.
Additionally, MoMo PSB will leverage its agent network to provide even better service to its customers.
It’s worth mentioning that MTN, alongside other mobile network operators like Airtel, Glo, and 9mobile, was granted a Payment Service Bank (PSB) license last year, aimed at promoting financial inclusion in Nigeria.
As a PSB, MoMo has the capability to collect deposits, offer savings accounts, and facilitate cross-border transfers, catering to both individuals and small enterprises.
