COVID-19 pandemic boost mobile banking, registered users reach 1.2bn: Report

The number of people using mobile banking increased worldwide reaching 1.21 billion mobile accounts, this was stated in a report released by the GSM Association on mobile banking.

According to the report, the coronavirus outbreak emerged as a catalyst accelerating the growth of mobile banking globally.

In 2020, the number of registered accounts grew by 12.7 percent globally to 1.21 billion accounts – double the forecasted growth rate. Meanwhile, the number of customers using their account on a monthly basis grew even faster. There are now over 300 million monthly active mobile money accounts.

Whereas, mobile money services can now be found in 96 countries worldwide.

“We see that mobile money is a powerful tool for expanding the financial inclusion of women in low- and middle-income countries,” said John Giusti, the GSMA’s Chief Regulatory Officer. “This year’s report, however, found that across markets women are still 33 percent less likely than men to have a mobile money account. The GSMA and its members are committed to closing this gender gap by addressing the barriers that prevent women from accessing and using mobile financial services.”

According to the report, total transaction values grew by 22pc in 2020 to reach $767 billion. Suggesting that for the first time, the industry is processing over $2 billion a day and has more than doubled in value since 2017.

“The GSMA expects this value to exceed $3 billion a day by end of 2022. In addition to the industry building foundational assets, such as APIs, this impressive growth in transaction values was supported by policy measures that included increasing transaction and balance limits,” stated the report.