MTN Expands Financial Services Ambitions with Potential Bank Acquisitions

Telecom giant MTN Group is strategically positioning itself for greater financial services involvement across Africa, considering applications for banking licenses in key markets. The move signals a significant evolution beyond current partnerships with banks and represents a major bet on the lending sector.

According to CEO Ralph Mupita, MTN will prioritize markets where it boasts substantial customer bases and mobile wallet holdings. “We’re evaluating whether acquiring banking licenses makes sense in regions with large customer concentrations and significant funds already held digitally,” Mupita stated during a recent press conference.

The company currently facilitates loans through existing bank partnerships but envisions transitioning to utilizing its own balance sheet for lending as it obtains new licenses. This approach would allow MTN to directly accept deposits, expanding the range of financial products offered.

Strong Fintech Performance Underpins Strategy

MTN’s fintech revenue reached $931.7 million (R14.9 billion) in the first half of 2026, a modest but positive increase despite operational challenges in certain markets. The mobile money platform MoMo demonstrated particularly strong growth with:

• 17.8% year-on-year revenue surge
• 70.8 million monthly active users (up 12.1%)
• 13 billion transactions processed (up 17.2%) valued at $330.5 billion
• Active agent network expanded by 13.1% to 1.4 million
• Merchant base climbed 18.1% to 2.3 million

These robust figures provide MTN with a solid foundation as it seeks to deepen its financial services offerings.

Nigeria Leads the Way

The company’s fintech initiatives have proven particularly successful in Nigeria, where MoMo Payment Service Bank and Y’ello Digital Financial Services generated ₦77 billion revenue during the first half of 2026. This performance underscores MTN’s potential in the digital financial landscape, with Nigeria accounting for 30% of group service revenue – approximately ₦3 trillion.

MTN is actively restructuring its fintech operations to function more independently, including plans to sell a 60% stake in its Nigerian fintech services to MTN Group for ₦152.06 billion, following similar moves in Ghana and Uganda.