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More than $2 trillion flowed through mobile money wallets globally in 2025. This is according to a new report, “The State of the Industry Report on Mobile Money 2026”, released today by the GSMA Mobile Money programme. 

“This is an important threshold and exemplifies the exponential growth in transaction values the industry has experienced in recent years,” GSMA noted in a statement sent to Financial Nigeria. “It took 20 years to pass $1 trillion in annual transaction values, but just four years for this figure to double”. 

Since its inception 25 years ago, mobile money has become a mainstream financial service for underserved populations worldwide, empowering those without access to traditional banking and contributing to economic growth in countries where it is available. The report also found that mobile money reached 2.3 billion registered accounts in 2025, an increase of 268 million.  

“Mobile money has become one of the world’s most impactful financial services,” noted Vivek Badrinath, GSMA Director General. “What began as a simple way to move money has evolved into a global financial ecosystem, reshaping how hundreds of millions of people manage their financial lives. The market is reaching new heights and greater maturity. Adoption and regular use are surging, and value is scaling even faster than volume, with more than $2 trillion flowing through mobile money in 2025 – doubling from the first trillion in just four years.  

The Director General said the industry’s growing scale and sophistication will bring new opportunities and new responsibilities. “By prioritising interoperability and cross‑border harmonisation, engaging in digital public infrastructure, strengthening consumer protection and fraud controls, and accelerating women’s inclusion and financial health outcomes, we can ensure mobile money continues to provide safe, inclusive and sustainable digital financial services,” he said. 

According to the report, regular mobile money usage has increased worldwide over the past year, with active 30-day accounts rising by 15% to 593 million. Most new registered and active accounts came from Sub-Saharan Africa, although almost every region where mobile money is offered experienced a rise. This has led to monthly usage of mobile money accounts rising by half a percentage point to 25.7%, the highest level since 2021. 

The report, however, notes that almost 75% of accounts are inactive each month, with fraud remaining widespread and transaction taxes often encouraging users to revert to cash in countries where they’re in effect, thereby negatively impacting financial inclusion.  

Through more frequent use, mobile money users can improve their financial health – the capacity to manage day-to-day financial needs, withstand shocks, and invest in the future – by benefiting from the growing provision of adjacent services such as credit, savings, and insurance, according to the statement. 

The report found that the number of mobile money providers offering insurance increased by one-third in 2025. Mobile-money-enabled credit remains the most widely offered adjacent financial service, nearly matched by savings options.  

Regulation is playing a key role in expanding the reach of mobile money, the GSMA reports. Over 60% of mobile money providers believe that interoperability, know-your-customer and consumer protection regulations have supported their operations. Although more must be done to support the industry, significant regulatory issues remain – particularly cross-border data transfer regulations, which 24% of mobile money providers report have hindered their operations. 

The report notes that a wide gender gap persists in mobile money account ownership across seven out of 10 countries surveyed.  Aside from Ghana, Kenya, and Nigeria, women who own a mobile money account are still less likely than men to have used it in the past month. 

In addition to accelerating financial inclusion and improving financial health, mobile money usage is enabling broader social and humanitarian benefits by facilitating rapid payouts during crises, particularly in remote regions. The report recommends that, for these and other use cases to succeed, mobile money needs to be complemented by digital financial literacy initiatives to continue responsible growth across regions and demographics.