Mobile money adoption surged 327% in the past five years in Benin showcasing the rising popularity of the technology.
Ecofin Agency reported, Benin’s Regulatory Authority for Electronic Communications and Postal Services (ARCEP) stated mobile financial services accounts grew from 2.6 million at the end of 2018 to 11.1 million in 2023.
A total of 2.07 billion transactions were made in 2023 an increase of 920% from 202.6 million recorded in 2018. Overall value of transactions amounted to over CFA10.6 billion (US$17.3 million) from CFA2 billion (US$3.4 billion) over the five year period.
In tandem, the total number of mobile subscription grew from 9.4 million to 16.4 million. The number of unique subscribers was 8.5 million, showing a penetration rate of 67.3%.
ARCEP noted that the population us using mobile financial services to deposit and withdraw money, buy airtime, deposit salaries, merchant payments, P2P transfers, P2C transfer and remittance.
