Benin: the number of mobile money subscribers has increased by 327% in five years
June 11th 2024
Mobile money adoption is growing in Benin. According to data from the Regulatory Authority for Electronic Communications and Postal Services (ARCEP), the number of mobile financial services accounts increased from 2.6 million at the end of 2018 to 11.1 million at the end of 2023 This represents a growth rate of 327% over the period.
ARCEP does not give a direct explanation for this growth in mobile adoption in Benin, but it specifies how the population uses it. “ Transactions carried out via mobile telephony in Benin relate to deposits and withdrawals of money, purchases of telephone credit, push and pull transfers, salary payments, merchant payments, P2P transfers [from a user to another, Editor’s note] , to P2C transfers [from a user to a company, Editor’s note] and to incoming and outgoing international transfers ”, we can read in the 2023 activity report of the telecoms regulator.
According to ARCEP data, Beninese mobile money account holders made a total of 2.07 billion transactions in 2023, an increase of around 920% compared to the 202.6 million transactions recorded in 2018. The overall value of these transactions increased from 2,081.8 billion CFA francs (3.4 billion USD) to 10,686.5 billion FCFA over the period.
It should be noted that the adoption and use of mobile money in Benin cannot be dissociated from that of mobile telephony since you must have a SIM card to open a mobile money account with telecom operators. The national mobile subscription base increased from 9.4 million in 2018 to 16.4 million in 2023. The number of unique subscribers stood at 8.5 million for a penetration rate of 67.3%.
The mobile money penetration rate increased from 23% to 89% between 2018 and 2023, according to ARCEP. However, the actual figures are less important due to the multi-SIM phenomenon which means that some people have several accounts with one or more operators. Greater adoption of mobile money should help improve financial inclusion in Benin, as the service constitutes an alternative solution for banking populations.
Source: Agency EcoFin
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