MTN Group Ltd. CEO Ralph Mupita confirmed that Africa’s largest telecommunications operator is actively exploring banking licenses in select African markets to transform its mobile money ecosystem.
The strategic shift aims to secure deposit-taking capabilities, allowing MTN to transition from facilitating third-party bank loans to underwriting loans directly off its own balance sheet. Mupita noted that while partnership-based lending will continue, direct balance-sheet deployment in high-float markets represents the primary engine for the group’s long-term fintech monetization.
Market Implications & Strategic Rationale
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Capturing Wallet Float: By acquiring specialized banking licenses, MTN can optimize the vast liquidity sitting in its mobile wallets (MoMo), turning customer balances into yield-bearing credit products rather than passing float income solely to commercial banking partners.
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Selective, High-Density Deployment: The banking push will be implemented selectively—targeting countries with massive active subscriber bases and large mobile money deposit balances, such as Nigeria, Ghana, and Uganda.
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Heightened Competition with Traditional Banks & Fintechs: The move sets up direct competition against African commercial banks and neo-banking platforms (such as OPay, Moniepoint, and PalmPay) in consumer credit and micro-SME working capital.
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Disciplined Risk Management: Recognizing the credit risk exposure involved in direct balance-sheet lending, MTN plans a gradual implementation alongside its existing partner bank framework to prevent asset-quality deterioration.
The projections come as MTN Nigeria Communications Plc completes its recovery from the naira devaluation shock that pushed it to a ₦400.4 billion loss in 2024.
The company has since staged one of the sharpest turnarounds in African telecoms, delivering ₦5.2 trillion in revenue and ₦1.11 trillion in profit after tax for full-year 2025, before extending that momentum into 2026 with half-year revenue of ₦2.993 trillion and profit after tax of ₦707.5 billion — a 70.6% year-on-year jump, according to the company’s H1 2026 earnings release filed on the Nigerian Exchange.
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