16 November 2023
Botswana's mobile money market has expanded rapidly, with more than 69.5% of the population now using such services.
According to Statistics Botswana, some 1.6 million mobile money accounts are active in the country, which has a population of about 2.3 million people. Last year's mobile money transaction value was approximately $2.7 billion, making mobile money transactions an increasingly important alternative in banking. Mobile money subscriptions stood at 1,811,036 in the first quarter of 2023, compared to 1,685,072 in the fourth quarter of 2022.
According to the Bank of Botswana, the mobile money disruption will spread to other sectors such as retail.
"The change in the retail payment landscape is driven by technological advancement that responds to increasing demand for faster, more convenient, safe and flexible means of payments and comes with differentiated financial products that meet consumer needs for savings, investment, insurance and credit delivery," said the bank's forecast.
