In just a few years, mobile money has gone from innovation to mass payment habit. In many countries, paying with your phone has become more natural than pulling out cash or a card. For a merchant, the stakes are simple: accept mobile money at the register, or lose sales. And the numbers leave little room for doubt.
Mobile money is no longer the future, it’s the present
The market has crossed a historic threshold. According to the industry’s reference report, the GSMA State of the Industry Report on Mobile Money, mobile money surpassed 2.1 billion registered accounts in 2024, up 14% year on year, and now counts 514 million monthly active users (GSMA, 2025).
More importantly, this is no longer marginal in value terms. In 2024, about 108 billion transactions flowed through mobile money accounts, totalling over $1.68 trillion, a 16% year-on-year increase in value (TechAfrica News / GSMA, 2025).
Sub-Saharan Africa sits at the heart of this momentum. The region alone holds 1.1 billion registered accounts — 53% of the world total — and processes 65% of global transaction value, or $1.105 trillion (Connecting Africa / GSMA).
The trend is confirmed on financial inclusion. According to the World Bank’s Global Findex, 40% of adults in Sub-Saharan Africa had a mobile money account in 2024 — the highest level of any world region — and 20% rely solely on a mobile money account, with no bank account at all (World Bank, Global Findex).
When 40% of your customers carry a mobile wallet and many have only that to pay with, not accepting mobile money is like closing part of your register.
The major operators in a few numbers
Behind the term “mobile money” sit a handful of dominant players that your customers use every day.
| Operator | Users / accounts | Transaction value | Coverage |
|---|---|---|---|
| M-Pesa | 34M active customers in Kenya (Nov 2024), 66.2M across all markets | — | Kenya, Tanzania, DRC, etc. |
| Orange Money | ~9 billion transactions in 2024 | €164 billion transferred in 2024 | 17 countries (Africa & Middle East) |
| Airtel Money | ~38 million customers (2024) | ~$112 billion (2024) | 14 countries |
- M-Pesa, the pioneer launched by Safaricom, reached 34 million active customers in Kenya alone by late 2024 (Safaricom) and 66.2 million customers across all its markets for the financial year ending March 2024 (Statista). The wider Safaricom ecosystem is estimated to contribute more than 8% of Kenya’s GDP (Africa Check).
- Orange Money processed 9 billion transactions, for €164 billion transferred in 2024, across 17 countries (We Are Tech Africa).
- Airtel Money counted around 38 million customers in 2024, with transaction value above $112 billion (Airtel Africa, Annual Report 2024).
Where access to a bank account and a card remains limited, the mobile phone is everywhere. For a large share of the population, mobile money is the default payment method.
The benefits for the merchant
Integrating mobile money is not just about customer convenience. It is a real operational lever:
- More sales: you no longer turn away a customer with no cash and no card.
- Less cash on hand: lower theft risk, fewer change-making errors.
- Fast checkout: the transaction confirms in seconds.
- Traceability: every payment is recorded, which simplifies accounting.
- Trust: offering the payment your customers prefer strengthens your image.
The problem with manual re-entry
Many merchants “accept” mobile money… but outside their register. The customer pays on the merchant’s phone, then the merchant manually re-enters the amount into their software — when they don’t forget it. This double entry is one of the costliest sources of error in retail.
Let’s compare the two approaches:
| Criterion | Manual entry (separate till + phone) | Integrated POS (digabloPos) |
|---|---|---|
| Time per transaction | Slow: double entry | A few seconds |
| Risk of amount error | High | Near zero |
| Stock ↔ sales consistency | Frequent gaps | Automatic |
| Report reliability | Approximate | True to reality |
| End-of-day close | Long, needs reconciling | Immediate |
Manual re-entry concretely creates:
- data-entry errors;
- discrepancies between real sales and stock;
- wasted time on every transaction;
- inaccurate reports, and therefore poorly informed decisions.
Mobile money only keeps its promise when it is integrated directly into the register.
The technical side: the Daraja API example
Taking mobile money cleanly relies on a software integration, not on typing amounts by hand. Safaricom, for instance, exposes its Daraja API, which lets a register trigger an M-Pesa payment straight from the point of sale via STK Push (also called Lipa na M-Pesa Online): the customer gets a prompt on their phone, confirms with their PIN, and the register receives the confirmation back (Safaricom — Daraja Developer Portal).
This kind of connection (STK Push, C2B, B2C) is what turns an “on the side” payment into a confirmed, timestamped sale automatically tied to the right product. That integration work is exactly what digabloPos handles for you.
How digabloPos integrates mobile money natively
This is exactly what digabloPos does. Mobile money payment is built into the core of the register, not bolted on the side:
- Take M-Pesa, Orange Money, Airtel Money payments straight from the register.
- Automatic stock updates with every completed sale.
- Detailed reports that faithfully reflect your mobile payments.
- Works on smartphone, tablet or computer, across multiple devices.
And because digabloPos was designed for emerging markets, it pairs mobile money with a robust offline mode: you keep selling even when the network weakens, then everything syncs once the connection returns.
Beyond payment: a virtuous circle
Done right, mobile money does more than take payments. Every confirmed transaction automatically feeds your inventory tracking and your reports. You know in real time what is selling, at what hour, and how much you have left in stock.
In practice, this lets you:
- reorder at the right moment, with no shortages and no overstock;
- identify your most profitable products;
- spot your peak hours to adjust your staffing and organization;
- close your day in seconds, because the figures are already accurate.
Integrated mobile money becomes a starting point for running your whole business better, not just one more way to take payment.
Free, certified, no mandatory subscription
Another strength of digabloPos is its model: free to start, certified, with no mandatory subscription. You adopt mobile money payments without adding to your fixed costs, which is decisive for an SME or a small shop. You can pilot it on a single counter, train your team in a day, and expand once you are comfortable.
In short
With 2.1 billion accounts, more than $1.68 trillion exchanged in 2024, and 40% of adults equipped in Sub-Saharan Africa, mobile money is no longer optional for merchants in the markets where it has taken hold. You have to accept it — and accept it well, meaning directly at the register, with stock updates and reliable reports. That is exactly what digabloPos offers, for free and even offline.
Want to take mobile money payments cleanly, with no re-entry and no errors? Let’s talk and discover digabloPos today.
Sources
- GSMA — Mobile Money Surpasses Two Billion Registered Accounts and Over Half a Billion Monthly Active Users Globally (2025)
- GSMA / TechAfrica News — Mobile Money Hits $1.68 Trillion in Transactions in 2024
- GSMA / Connecting Africa — Sub-Saharan Africa maintains mobile money lead
- World Bank — Global Findex: Financial Inclusion in Sub-Saharan Africa
- Safaricom — M-PESA Hits 34 Million Customers in Kenya
- Statista — Number of M-Pesa customers in Africa
- Africa Check — M-Pesa and Kenya’s GDP figures
- We Are Tech Africa — Orange Money: 9 billion transactions, €164 billion transferred in 2024
- Airtel Africa — Annual Report 2024
- Safaricom — Daraja Developer Portal (M-Pesa API)