Mobile money continues to transform financial services worldwide, with users spending nearly $100 billion on bill payments in 2025, representing an 8 percent increase from the previous year, according to the GSMA State of the Industry Report on Mobile Money.
Sub-Saharan Africa accounted for over two-thirds of all bill payments by value, though regions such as Latin America and the Caribbean (18 percent), South Asia (14 percent), and East Asia and the Pacific (13 percent) experienced faster annual growth rates than Africa.
The report notes that mobile money providers are responding to high demand, with 97 percent offering bill payment services. On average, each provider processed payments for nearly one million unique users in June 2025, with electricity bills ranking as the most common transaction type by value.
Bulk Disbursements and interoperable transfers gain momentum
The report also shows that bulk disbursements, the sending of funds to multiple recipients at once, rose 25 percent in 2025 to $139 billion, ranking second in both value and growth among mobile money ecosystem transactions, behind merchant payments. Sub-Saharan Africa accounted for around 70 percent of these disbursements, while the Middle East and North Africa recorded the fastest annual value growth at 40 percent, followed by sub-Saharan Africa (26 percent) and South Asia (23 percent).
Interoperable transactions between mobile money wallets and bank accounts also increased substantially. B2M transfers reached $167 billion in 2025, up 37 percent from the previous year, while M2B transfers grew 35 percent to $163 billion. Peer-to-peer off-net transfers expanded by 21 percent to $85 billion.
While sub-Saharan Africa remains the largest market for interoperable transfers, other regions recorded faster growth. Transaction volumes in the Middle East and North Africa rose 87 percent year-on-year, while South Asia saw volumes increase by 37 percent.
The report also highlighted a shift in how funds move between banks and mobile money wallets. The share of bank-to-mobile (B2M) transfers relative to cash-ins rose from 23 percent in 2021 to 38 percent in 2025, while mobile-to-bank (M2B) transfers now account for nearly half of all cash-outs.
Rising usage and spending on mobile money were reflected in overall global transaction values, underscoring the sector’s rapid expansion. Business A.M. previously reported that total mobile money transactions reached $2 trillion in 2025, doubling in just four years after two decades were needed to reach the first trillion. This growth highlights the increasing reliance on mobile wallets for payments, transfers, and bill settlements, particularly in regions with limited access to traditional banking.
The trend reflects a broader shift in how people worldwide access and manage financial services, with mobile devices emerging as a primary tool for transactions, savings, and transfers. As mobile wallets become central to both personal and commercial activities, providers are scaling services, enhancing interoperability with banks, and investing in secure, seamless user experiences to serve a rapidly expanding global customer base.
