The Central Bank of Nigeria granted MTN the permission to operate Mobile Money (MoMo).

Since its inception in 2019, MTN Nigeria’s Mobile Money (MoMo) service has attracted over 9 million subscribers. According to TechCabal, the license means MTN Nigeria would be able to provide practically all the services provided by traditional commercial banks, except for credit and foreign exchange transactions.

“We are grateful to the CBN for granting the final approval to commence the operations of MoMo PSB, which is an important milestone for our Ambition 2025 strategy. We are excited about the opportunity for MTN Nigeria to support the CBN and the Federal Republic of Nigeria in fulfilling the agenda of driving financial inclusion in Nigeria,” MTN Group CEO Ralph Mupita said.

Mobile money is a type of electronic wallet or payment service that is conducted from or via a mobile device and is governed by financial regulations. Customers can use mobile pay instead of credit cards, cash, or checks.

This mobile money banking system is currently available in Zambia, Ghana, Cameroon, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, among other African countries.

The clearance is likely to stimulate the usage of mobile money in Nigeria as the number of users grows, particularly in rural and underserved areas.

According to TechCabal, MTN Nigeria’s revenue hit a new high of 1.7 trillion dollars ($3.4 billion) last year, with profit jumping 45.5 percent to 298.9 billion dollars ($598 million).

MTN Nigeria’s income is increasing because of mobile money, and we expect the new banking license to allow the business to explore the development potential given by Nigeria’s unbanked population.