Mastercard and MTN Group Fintech have entered into a multi-market agreement aimed at ushering in a new era of collaboration to connect millions of people and small businesses across Africa with digital tools for secure mobile payments. The partnership leverages Mastercard’s advanced technology and capabilities to support MTN’s ambition of becoming Africa’s largest fintech platform for both merchants and consumers. This collaboration follows Mastercard and MTN’s recent agreement for a minority investment in MTN Group Fintech, the digital financial services arm of Africa’s largest mobile network operator.

Covering 13 markets in Africa, including Benin, Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Eswatini, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria, Republic of Congo, Republic of Guinea, Rwanda, South Africa, Uganda, and Zambia, the partnership aims to capitalize on MTN’s substantial subscriber base of 290 million and 60 million active monthly Mobile Money (MoMo) wallets.

Amnah Ajmal, Executive Vice President of Market Development at EEMEA, Mastercard, stated, “Our innovation strategy is based on collaboration. We are very proud of our partnership with MTN which will enable digital commerce for millions of people in Africa. In addition, mobile money solutions can be greatly beneficial for SMEs, enabling growth through seamless commercial operations, wider payment acceptance, access to affordable credit, and secure digital tools.”

Africa, home to over 1.3 billion people, faces a challenge where only about 43% are banked, with over 90% of all payments and transactions made via cash. Mastercard and MTN have collaborated over the past five years to support various mobile money programs across the continent, aiming to bring more people into the financial mainstream.

Serigne Dioum, Group CEO, of MTN Fintech, highlighted the partnership’s focus on bringing access, progress, financial inclusion, and prosperity to people. He stated, “We look forward to working with Mastercard as a partner that is also committed to the enablement of more people and businesses through the collaboration into best-in-class apps, superior user experiences, safe transactions, secure remittances, new use cases, and expanded acceptance.”

Key Highlights of the Collaboration:

1. Global Access for MoMo Wallet Users:
   • A virtual and physical Mastercard companion card will be added to every MoMo wallet, providing users access to over 100 million acceptance locations globally.
   • Mastercard will offer its cybersecurity solutions to MTN’s operations to increase customer loyalty and trust.
2. Empowering SMEs with Payment Acceptance Solutions:
   • SMEs will have access to payment acceptance solutions such as Mastercard’s SME-in-a-Box, facilitating low-cost payment solutions for small business owners.
   • Solutions include setting up an e-commerce shopfront, QR enablement, Tap on Phone solutions, and digital card acceptance.
3. Expanding Reach for Remittance Solutions:
   • The partnership will enhance the reach of mobile money remittance services, both inward and cross-border remittances in Africa.
   • International remittances via mobile money wallets grew by 65% year over year in 2020 to around US$1 billion.

Mastercard has committed to bringing 1 billion people and 50 million SMEs into the global digital economy by 2025. The collaboration with MTN demonstrates their dedication to making financial inclusion a reality across the African continent.