MTN Nigeria Communications Plc, a leading telecommunications company in Nigeria, has announced that a total of 4.2 million customers have subscribed for the services of its subsidiary, Mobile Money (MoMo) business that was licensed under the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) Payment Service Bank (PSB) program in May 2022.
The telecom giant disclosed this in its unaudited report obtained by Investors King.
According to the report, only 2.4 million of the 4.2 million subscribers are presently active on MoMo Payment Service Bank. However, despite the large percentage of inactive customers, the telecoms company said it processed 7 million in transaction volume since it was launched on 16th of May 2022.
The CBN introduced the PSB license to increase financial inclusion and reduce the number of unbanked adults in Africa’s largest economy, Nigeria.
This, the apex bank said would help increase the number of people in the tax net, and subsequently boost tax revenue.
While the CBN is looking to use PSB license to deepen the nation’s financial system, MTN Nigeria, Airtel Africa and other licensed companies are looking to expand their revenue generation via PSB business.
Speaking on the significance of the PSB license to MTN Nigeria’s long-term strategy, Karl Toriola, MTN Nigeria CEO, said “This is an important milestone for MTN Nigeria in our mission to support the delivery of financial services to everyone in Nigeria. Not just those in urban centers and markets, but also people in the rural and remote areas of the country who remain excluded from the financial system.”
He added “We are grateful to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for their support and guidance through the
process.”
Airtel Africa and MTN Nigeria are now expected to go head to head by leveraging on their broad network to seize a substantial market share of the new PSB space.
