Mobile Money Transactions to Exceed $2 Trillion in Emerging Markets by 2027

The total value of mobile money transactions in emerging markets will reach $2 trillion by 2027, an increase of over $500 billion from 2023, according to Juniper Research. Growing at 33%, the market is driven by the transition to PaaP (Payments-as-a-Platform), a model that allows third parties to deliver products via mobile money apps.

The research identified PaaP as driving mobile money development, as it enables third parties to have more access to users, without mobile money operators having to develop additional services themselves. This also enables greater revenue for mobile money operators, whilst allowing them to meet increasingly sophisticated user demands.

The research predicted that by 2027, there would be 411 million users of sophisticated MFS (Mobile Financial Services) within emerging markets. This 40% increase is a result of providers offering a variety of services, such as microloans and microinsurance, to satisfy growing user demand. The rising maturity of several mobile money markets, growing customer awareness, and affluence of users have increased the importance of mobile money vendors providing sophisticated MFS; investing in technologies that facilitate it.

“Vendors must effectively implement sophisticated MFS, or they will lose ground to rising competition. This can be best achieved through new approaches, such as leveraging existing data that operators hold to enable alternative credit scoring, allowing much greater lending opportunities,“ remarked research co-author Cara Malone.

The report urges mobile money vendors to leverage data analytics to best retain customers and fight off rising competition. By gaining valuable insight into consumer behavior and preferences, vendors can provide better-tailored services to end users. Combining this data with new third-party services via PaaP enables a more personalized service; increasing customer satisfaction and revenue.