Africa’s two largest telco-backed fintech operations, MTN’s MoMo and Vodacom’s M-Pesa platform including Safaricom, together processed just over $1 trillion in mobile money transactions in their most recent financial years, a combined milestone that places the pair at the centre of Africa’s digital financial architecture, even as their strategic paths diverge sharply.
Vodacom Group’s fintech business surpassed 100 million customers for the first time, reporting 103 million active financial services users in the year ended March 31, 2026, representing 17.4% year-on-year growth. Vodacom’s consolidated financial services revenue climbed 19.6% to R16.8 billion, rising to R41.3 billion when Safaricom, in which Vodacom holds a 34.94% effective interest, is included on a 100% basis.
“Financial services remains a core pillar of our growth strategy and a powerful engine for inclusion,” said Vodacom Group Chief Executive Officer Shameel Joosub in commentary accompanying the results.
MTN’s MoMo platform processed $500.3 billion in transaction value in the year to December 31, 2025, a 37.6% jump in constant currency, putting the pan-African operator past the half-trillion-dollar mark for the first time. MTN reported group fintech revenue of R30.3 billion, growing 23.2% in constant currency, with fintech now accounting for 13.1% of the group’s service revenue. MTN counts 69.5 million monthly active MoMo users, up from 63.1 million a year earlier, across 16 markets.
The combined $1 trillion figure represents roughly half of global mobile money transaction value, which the GSMA confirmed crossed $2 trillion in 2025, doubling in just four years with Sub-Saharan Africa accounting for the majority of new registered and active accounts.
The two operators are, however, pursuing distinct trajectories. Vodacom is making the bet that depth in fewer markets, anchored by Safaricom’s near-monopoly position in Kenya, beats breadth. MTN is increasingly building bank-tech as a standalone vertical, with its lending platform serving 9.6 million unique users in 2025 and $3.6 billion in loans disbursed, and the operator launching a virtual card in partnership with Mastercard. Vodacom’s M-Pesa “beyond core” services including lending, savings and merchant offerings now account for 46.4% of its international M-Pesa revenue, with R26.7 billion in loans facilitated during the year.
For Ghanaian readers, the MTN strategy has direct local implications. MTN Ghana completed the merger of its mobile money subsidiary into a newly created standalone entity, MobileMoney Fintech Limited (MMFL), effective March 31, 2026, as the group pursues a wider strategy of separating fintech from core telecoms across its markets.
Vodacom’s Safaricom ambitions face a legal obstacle. The Kenyan government’s planned sale of a 15% stake in Safaricom to Vodacom remains frozen after the Nairobi High Court extended an injunction pending the outcome of a constitutional challenge.
The rails both operators have constructed are facing new pressures. Optasia, an AI-enabled microlender, listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) in November 2025 at a valuation of R23.5 billion, using both MTN and Vodacom networks for customer access without competing directly on payments. More structurally, stablecoins are emerging as a potential alternative channel. A BVNK Stablecoin Utility Report conducted with YouGov, Coinbase and Artemis found that 95% of African respondents would prefer to receive payments in stablecoins, compared to a global average of 77%, driven by currency instability and limited access to conventional banking.
Three rand-pegged stablecoins have launched in quick succession in South Africa: ZARP backed by Old Mutual, ZAR Supercoin backed by Super Group, and Zaru backed by Luno, EasyEquities, Lesaka Technologies and Sanlam.
