MoMo PSB pushes for deeper financial inclusion, wider cashless payments in Nigeria
MoMo Payment Service Bank (PSB), owned by MTN, has brought the campaign for deepening financial inclusion and widening cashless payments in Nigeria to the forefront.
At the August edition of the Nigeria-South Africa Chamber of Commerce Breakfast Forum, MoMo PSB called for urgent efforts to enhance financial inclusion for most Nigerians and make cashless payments more accessible to the unbanked and underbanked population in the country.
The Forum, focused on the theme “Financial Inclusion and Cashless Payments in Nigeria: The MoMo PSB Way,” highlighted that many Nigerians still lack access to financial services.
According to MoMo PSB, Nigeria has about 111 million adults, but only 71.6 million (64%) use formal financial services, while 39.6 million (36%) remain either informally served or financially excluded.
MoMo PSB identified low or irregular income as a key factor contributing to the financial exclusion of 49% of the population.
However, there is hope, as 93% of adults—about 103 million people—have access to mobile phones, with 55% living in urban areas. This presents a great opportunity for expanding cashless financial inclusion and payments in the country.
Despite this potential, just over half of adults (63.2% or 63 million) are using formal financial services. Nearly 1 in 2 Nigerian adults do not use any formal (regulated) financial services, and more than 1 in 3 remain completely financially excluded.
MoMo PSB’s strategic objectives for 2024, which include becoming an enabler in the ecosystem for digital transactions, led to its collaboration with the Lagos State Government in the provision of fresh food to the public through a Food Hub and Price Control Initiative.
“This initiative involved the establishment of Fresh Food Hubs across 58 LGAs/LCDAs in Lagos State, with a flagship hub at Mushin Idi-Oro, where MoMo PSB served as a designated payment solution provider for six months,” MoMo PSB stated.
In line with its business partnerships, MoMo PSB also partnered with Ikoyi LCDA for the “Empower Her Fortune Initiative 2.0” empowerment scheme. The Executive Chairman of Ikoyi LCDA, Mr. Fuad Atanda-Lawal, at the second edition of the scheme, disbursed N50 million in grants, with each of the 1,000 beneficiaries receiving N50,000 via MoMo PSB.
MoMo PSB stated, “Financial inclusion in Nigeria has seen significant progress in recent years, driven by government initiatives, technological advancements, and collaboration between financial institutions and fintech companies. However, there is still work to be done to ensure that all segments of the population have access to affordable and relevant financial services. Continued collaboration and innovation will be crucial in achieving universal financial inclusion and driving sustainable economic growth.”
MoMo PSB also targeted high-traffic locations to drive registrations and merchant account openings for the 1,000 beneficiaries via the USSD code *691#, ahead of the instant deposit of the disbursed funds during the event held on August 6.
The PSB noted, “We are strategically positioned to drive financial inclusion to the last mile,” leveraging its extensive agent and digital network, large customer base, and robust technology.
MoMo PSB aims to achieve its goals by “leveraging the high mobile phone usage among Nigerians, our vast retail infrastructure, robust technology platforms, network coverage, and customer base to easily and efficiently support the cashless payment policy and drive financial inclusion to the last mile.”
In 2023, MoMo unveiled an open Application Programming Interface (API) to bolster digital wallets within its platform. This move encourages companies to seamlessly integrate the API for payment processing and collections.
In Nigeria alone, MoMo boasts over 40 million wallet users, which represents less than a quarter of its total wallet user base across Africa, where the figure stands at a staggering 200 million. By tapping into the merchant ecosystem via an open API, MoMo aims to significantly increase its user base across Africa.
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