People are pictured at a bank of the French mobile operator Orange in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, September 18, 2020. Picture taken September 18, 2020. REUTERS/Macline HienShare this contentThen, in the midst of the pandemic, French telecommunications giant Orange launched an entirely digital bank - its first full banking venture in Africa."Going back to cash would be like travelling back in time," Kra said in the country's commercial capital, Abidjan.
The global health crisis has been an unexpected catalyst, with some African governments releasing COVID-19 stimulus grants via mobile money platforms and central banks easing regulations, including limits on mobile transactions. That presents a huge opportunity, said Francois Jurd de Girancourt, head of McKinsey's financial institutions practice Africa. Prior to the crisis, it rated the continent as the world's No.2 market in terms of growth and profitability potential with banking revenues set to hit US$129 billion by 2023.By last year, sub-Saharan Africa boasted 469 million mobile money accounts - more than any other region in the world - according to industry body GSMA.
It has also accelerated plans for cash advances to merchants at registered pay points, its financial services CEO Mariam Cassim told Reuters. And after growing the number of vendors accepting payment via its platform by 100,000 in the first half of the year, it has now doubled an end-2021 target to 1 million.
M-Pesa, run by Vodacom unit Safaricom , dominates the financial system in Kenya. But both MTN and M-Pesa have in the past been forced to drop mobile money initiatives in South Africa after struggling to attract customers.