MTN MoMo Hits 70.8M Users as Lending Drives H1 2026

In Short

• MTN says its fintech arm is shifting from basic mobile money fees to higher-value services like payments, lending, and cross-border remittances.
• MoMo reported 70.8 million monthly active users and 2.3 million merchants in the first half of 2026.
• Transaction value topped $330 billion in H1 2026, while fintech revenue was about R14.9 billion.

What Happened

MTN discussed the growth strategy for its MoMo platform after reporting strong H1 2026 results. The company says it has already built large scale in mobile money, and is now focusing on monetisation, which means earning more revenue from each transaction and user.

The numbers show the scale. MoMo had 70.8 million monthly active users and 2.3 million merchants accepting mobile money daily across MTN markets. MTN processed over $330 billion in transaction value in H1 2026, spread across 13 billion transactions. MTN said this works out to roughly 50,000 transactions per minute.

MTN also pointed to “take rate”, a common fintech metric that measures how much revenue a platform earns compared to the value flowing through it. High transaction volumes do not always translate into high revenue if fees are low or regulated.

In the period, MTN said advanced services like payments and lending drove fintech revenue growth. It is also shifting its revenue mix away from basic services like cash-in and cash-out, where fees can fall over time.

Partnerships are part of the playbook. MTN said its Mastercard partnership has helped it scale card issuance, with close to one million virtual and physical companion cards issued. The Mastercard investment referenced was a prior 2024 deal, not a new funding round.

Why It Matters

MTN’s update is a signal of where large mobile money operators are heading. Basic USSD-based transfers and cash agent networks can build reach, but they tend to face margin pressure from regulation and competition.

The next phase is app-based financial services, including lending, merchant payments, e-commerce, and embedded finance, which means financial tools built inside other apps and business workflows. MTN also said it is modernising MoMo’s technical infrastructure to support a more smartphone-led experience and deeper developer integrations.

For startups and banks, this matters because telcos with large distribution can become serious competitors in lending and merchant services. For developers and operators, it suggests more APIs, more product surface area, and more demand for compliance, risk controls, and reliable payments infrastructure as MoMo moves up the value chain.