• Highlights MTN’s Ambition 2025 Strategy commitment, with strong emphasis on
Fintech utilizing the Ericsson Wallet Platform as a key channel for substantial
growth
• Agreement formalized during an executive visit by MTN Group to Ericsson Group
HQ
Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) and the MTN Group (JSE: MTN) have strengthened their
partnership to enhance mobile financial services and financially empower millions
of citizens across Africa. The partnership is set to broaden the scope of financial
inclusion from first-time users to high-end business applications, utilizing MTN’s
Mobile Money (MoMo) service on the Ericsson Wallet Platform.
The comprehensive suite of services will provide MTN’s customer base across Africa
with access to a world-class mobile connectivity-based financial ecosystem.
In addition to ramping up MTN’s goal of advancing financial inclusion for the
unbanked, the service provider will offer advanced financial services to address the
rapidly evolving digital financial needs of individuals and enterprises.
Powered by the Ericsson Wallet Platform, MTN Mobile Money enables individuals
and businesses to conduct secure and convenient banking and payment
transactions with ease, directly from their mobile devices.
MTN MoMo customers can securely manage funds, pay merchants and utility
providers, and access loans and insurance services with ease and affordability,
promoting financial freedom and stability.
The platform places a strong emphasis on financial technology (FinTech), with focus
areas including the growth of merchant and e-commerce payments, facilitating
national and international money transfers among family members and others
(remittance services), advancing banking solutions (BankTech), and offering
insurance services (InsurTech).
MTN visit to Ericsson HQ
The agreement was signed during a visit by senior MTN Group executives to
Ericsson’s Group Headquarters in Kista, Sweden, where key strategic priorities and
collaboration between the two companies was discussed.
More than 63 million MTN active subscribers already use its Mobile Money platform
in some form across 16 African countries. MTN MoMo annual transaction value has
almost tripled since 2018, growing from USD 76 billion in 2018 to USD 204 billion in
2022. Transaction volumes increased by almost 300 percent during the same period
– from 3.5 billion transactions in 2018 to 12.7 billion in 2022 .
MTN Group | Media Release
Ericsson Wallet Platform supports more than 400 million registered mobile wallets
and processes more than 2.8 billion transactions, worth more than USD 40 billion,
every month through communication service providers and financial institutions
globally.
Serigne Dioum, Chief Fintech Officer, MTN Group, says: “At MTN, we are not just
connecting people, we are unlocking a world of financial possibilities for every
African. With 63.5 million active users, our Mobile Money platform is advancing
economic empowerment across the continent. MTN Mobile Money offers a spectrum
of mobile financial services, encompassing money transfers, payments, savings, and
loans for every consumer, actively driving financial inclusion and advancing
economic empowerment across the continent. Our collaboration with Ericsson is a
significant milestone in the execution of our Ambition 2025 – building the largest
and most valuable platform business and create shared value for our customers in
Africa.”
Michael Wallis-Brown, Head of Mobile Financial Services, Ericsson, says: “Ericsson’s
partnership with MTN is a world-leading example of the ability of mobile financial
services to financially empower people and business – from giving the unbanked
their first opportunity to control their finances, making it easier for women to access
financial services and promoting digital inclusion – to enabling more advanced users
to access high-end services. This model can be applied in any market anywhere in
the world to genuinely empower mobile subscribers of all financial standings. Our
valued MTN partnership also supports Ericsson’s AfricaInMotion vision to promote a
sustainable and connected Africa.”