GSMA: 2018 Global Mobile Payment Industry Report

The GSMA has released its eighth annual Global Mobile Payments Industry Report, providing an updated overview of the mobile payments landscape and highlighting the impact that greater financial inclusion is having on lives, economies and innovation, particularly in emerging markets.

The report provides a comprehensive look at the adoption and use of mobile payments around the world. By the end of 2018, there were more than 866 million registered accounts in 90 countries, up 20% from 2017. In 2018, the mobile payments industry processed $1.3 billion worth of transactions per day, and the value of digital transactions grew more than twice as fast as cash transactions, indicating that cash is becoming less and less important in customers' lives.

Mats Granryd, Director General of the GSMA, said: “Our research shows that for the world’s most vulnerable, the benefits of mobile money are real. Throughout 2018, the GSMA has been supporting operators to reach customers underserved by the traditional financial system. The mobile money industry is growing rapidly on the back of growing internet access and smartphone usage, and now there is an unprecedented opportunity for mobile money to reach the 1.7 billion people who are still excluded from traditional finance.”

This year’s State of the Industry report examines how vendors are navigating this dynamic and changing ecosystem, including:

• Customer experience has been enhanced due to the popularity of smartphones and the increased operability of mobile money;
• Diversification of the payments ecosystem;
• Imposing increasingly complex controls;

A shift toward a “payments as a platform” business model that connects consumers and businesses with a range of third-party services.

The new platform-based approach aims to enhance the penetration of mobile money to meet the changing needs of customers, from micro, small and medium-sized enterprise solutions to e-commerce, credit, savings and insurance. Increase and diversify revenue sources, and expand new customer bases. For example, providers offering credit, savings or insurance products reported that 46% of their customers are actively using mobile payment services, while providers that do not offer such services have a customer activity rate of 26%.

Other key developments in 2018 included reforms in Africa’s three most populous countries – Egypt, Ethiopia and Nigeria – that are expected to result in 110 million new mobile money accounts in the region over the next five years.

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