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…active MoMo wallets down 29.4% in Q3
MTN Nigeria’s much hyped fintech subsidiary, MoMo Payment Service Bank Limited, which commenced commercial operations in May is facing challenges as the Nigerian Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS) interface has been temporarily suspended.
During Q3, MTN moderated commercial activities and prioritised the enhancement of its control systems, which resulted in short-term pressure on its active base.
“Our active fintech users at the end of September 2022 were 11.2 million, of which 1.8 million are active MoMo wallets, down 29.4% from 2.4 million in Q3,” Karl Toriola, Chief Executive Officer of MTN, said.
“We expect a more sustainable growth of active wallets once we reopen NIBSS and drive initiatives to grow our base.”
MTN Nigeria said it anticipates that NIBSS will be reopened in the fourth quarter.
NIBSS owns infrastructure for handling inter-bank payments in order to remove potential bottlenecks associated with inter-bank funds transfer and settlement. It is owned by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and all licensed Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) in Nigeria.
MTN said it expanded its mobile money (MoMo) agent network in Nigeria by adding over 21,000 active agents in Q3, bringing the total number to approximately 188,000.
The agent network continued to play a pivotal role in MTN’s MoMo ecosystem and helped to drive growth in the total volume of transactions by 112.2% year-on-year. Registered MoMo wallets more than doubled to 9.9 million in Q3, up from 4.2 million in June 2022.
Deposits held for mobile money (MoMo) customers rose by 60% to N1.745 billion in Q3, compared to N1.091 billion as at June 2022, data seen by MoneyCentral shows.
The deposits held for MoMo customers are measured at their carrying amounts considering that these are either due or demandable at short notice. The corresponding assets are held as restricted cash.