Mobile Money Accounts Surpass Banks in Low-Income Countries

More people over the age of 15 in low-income countries said in 2024 that they had a mobile money account than a traditional bank account. As of the latest data from the World Bank, nearly 32 percent said they had a mobile money account opposite 26 percent with a bank account. While access to both types of accounts has been growing over the years, mobile money accounts expanded faster recently.

Mobile money accounts are accounts that are accessible even with basic mobile phones, can receive, send and store money and are linked to an individual's phone number. The World Bank report accompanying the release of the new data said: "Mobile phones and the internet are revolutionizing financial inclusion". Additionally, the report found that any growth in the number of banked people in low and middle-income countries was equivalent to the growth of people using mobile money exclusively or in combination with traditional accounts.

Sub-Saharan Africa has been the hotspot of mobile money developments but the technology has been branching out, chiefly to Latin America, but also to Asia and even Europe. The countries where mobile money account ownership surpassed traditional bank account ownership the most were all located in Africa, starting with Zambia at 45 percentage points, followed by Kenya and Uganda (42 percentage points) as well as Ghana (40 percentage points).