Africa mobile payments market projected to reach $198.8 billion by 2026

Africa’s mobile payments market is projected to reach $198.8 billion by 2026, growing from $162.9 billion in 2025. Long-term forecasts suggest the market could hit approximately $370.5 billion by 2030. This growth is driven by structural factors including telecom-led mobile money, increased smartphone penetration, fintech investment, and the development of interoperable infrastructure that connects previously closed payment systems.

In South Africa, the payments ecosystem is undergoing a significant regulatory and structural overhaul. Following a directive from the South African Reserve Bank, card and high-value clearing responsibilities have moved to the central bank, while low-value clearing has been transferred to Pay Inc., the newly designated national payments utility. New regulatory proposals aim to create an activity-based framework that could allow more non-bank institutions and fintech companies to provide payment services directly, though this brings increased requirements for fraud prevention and operational resilience.