Mastercard has agreed to acquire a minority stake in the fintech division of MTN Group, Africa's largest cellphone provider, valuing the division at $5.2 billion. The formal investment agreements are expected to be signed soon as both parties conclude the due diligence process. The deal will involve a commercial partnership focusing on payments and remittances, utilizing Mastercard's technical infrastructure for development throughout Africa. The investment will include a minority share, and the share size will be announced after the transaction's completion. This move follows MTN's effort to seek minority investors for its African fintech subsidiary, which was separated from its main telecom business to enhance growth. MTN's mobile money transactions for H1 2023 increased by 37% to $8.3 billion, with over 60 million active users. This investment reflects Mastercard's growing interest in African mobile money and fintech sectors, and it follows a similar deal with Airtel Africa in 2021. Other telecom operators like Safaricom and Vodacom are also exploring fintech separations to tap into the growing digital services trend in Africa.

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