MTN's first-half 2026 results provide a useful picture of the scale its financial services business has reached across Africa.
The Group reported 70.8 million monthly active MoMo users, 13 billion fintech transactions and $330.5 billion in transaction value during the first six months of the year.
The ecosystem also included 1.4 million active agents and 2.3 million active fintech merchants.
These figures show the size MoMo has achieved. They also highlight a broader shift toward merchant payments and financial services beyond basic money transfers.
$330.5 billion moved through the ecosystem in six months
MTN's fintech transaction value reached $330.5 billion in the first half of 2026, representing growth of 33.8% in constant currency.
Transaction volumes increased by 17.2% to 13 billion.
The value moving through the ecosystem is therefore growing faster than the number of transactions.
The $330.5 billion figure covers the broader fintech activity reported by MTN. Mobile Money platforms handle several types of flows, including peer-to-peer transfers, cash-in and cash-out transactions, merchant payments, remittances and other financial services.
MTN separately reports merchant payment value, providing a more specific view of commercial usage.
Merchant payments reached $12.7 billion
Merchant payment value reached $12.7 billion during the first half of 2026, up 14.5% in constant currency.
MTN attributes the increase to a larger number of customers making payments, higher payment frequency, increased average transaction values and the onboarding of new major merchants in several markets.
The Group specifically mentioned Benin among the markets benefiting from new key merchant accounts.
The number of active fintech merchants also increased by 18.1% to 2.3 million.
This is an important measure of how Mobile Money usage is evolving.
Every additional merchant acceptance point gives customers another reason to keep money inside the wallet and use it directly rather than converting it back into cash.
Merchant numbers only tell part of the story
The 2.3 million active merchants indicate the size of MTN's acceptance network.
A deeper analysis would require additional metrics, including merchant transaction frequency, average payment value, unique paying customers and the distribution of volumes between large merchants and smaller businesses.
MTN does not disclose these figures at Group level in its H1 results.
They would help distinguish growth in merchant coverage from sustained growth in everyday payment activity.
Advanced services are gaining importance
The shift is also visible in MoMo's revenue mix.
Revenue from advanced services increased by 31.8% during the first half of 2026.
These services now represent 37.4% of MoMo revenue excluding airtime advance, four percentage points higher than a year earlier.
MTN says it intends to continue shifting its revenue mix toward payments, lending and other advanced services.
Mobile Money is therefore expanding beyond its traditional transfer and cash-in/cash-out functions.
Agent networks and peer-to-peer transfers remain fundamental, but wallets can increasingly support a wider range of financial activities from the same account.
PI-SPI adds a new dimension in WAEMU
This development is particularly relevant in Benin and Côte d'Ivoire, where MTN operates Mobile Money services.
The BCEAO lists MTN Mobile Money Benin SA and MTN Mobile Financial Services Côte d'Ivoire among electronic money institutions operating in the region.
As of 31 July 2026, both entities also appear on the list of participants authorised to open PI-SPI services to the public.
PI-SPI is the BCEAO's regional interoperable instant payment platform. It enables eligible account holders across WAEMU to transfer funds between different financial service providers around the clock.
Electronic money accounts are part of this environment.
For a large operator such as MTN, interoperability gradually changes the competitive dynamics of the market.
Customers can increasingly move funds across providers, making service quality, pricing, merchant acceptance, lending, remittances and other value-added services even more important.
Four indicators offer a better measure of MoMo's development
MTN's results show why the number of users alone no longer provides a complete picture.
1. Active users
MTN has 70.8 million monthly active MoMo users.
This measures the effective reach of the network.
2. Transaction intensity
The 13 billion transactions processed during the first half indicate the level of activity generated across the ecosystem.
3. Merchant payments
The 2.3 million active merchants and $12.7 billion in merchant payments provide a clearer view of MoMo's role in everyday commerce.
4. Financial services
The 31.8% growth in advanced services shows how MTN is expanding the number of activities available around the wallet.
Interoperability with other financial institutions adds another layer to that development in markets such as WAEMU.
Frequency of use will become increasingly important
MTN has already reached considerable scale.
$330.5 billion in transaction value, 70.8 million active users and 13 billion transactions in six months place MoMo among Africa's major digital financial ecosystems.
The next indicators will provide a better understanding of the depth of that usage.
How many customers regularly pay merchants? How often do active users make merchant payments? How large will lending and other financial services become? How will regional interoperability affect customer behaviour?
The $12.7 billion in merchant payments, 2.3 million active merchants and rapid growth of advanced services already provide an indication of where the ecosystem is heading.
The next phase of African Mobile Money will increasingly be measured by how frequently customers use their wallets and how many everyday financial activities those wallets can support.
