Mobile financial services continue to grow dramatically in Africa. The number of mobile money wallets has surpassed that of bank accounts in major East African markets including Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, said Analysys Mason in a new report. For example, the Central Bank of Kenya reported 23.75 million registered mobile money accounts by June 2013, compared to only 18.9 million bank accounts. As take-up of mobile money services grows, cross-border money transfer services are emerging as the next opportunity for operators and other mobile financial players. To this end, operators are forming partnerships with financial institutions or international remittance companies, and using their multi-country mobile money networks to develop such services. Report
