(Business in Cameroon) – Mobile Money payments across the six CEMAC countries rose by 36.33% in 2023, reaching 2.961 trillion CFA francs, up from 2.172 trillion in 2022, according to a recent report on payment services by the Bank of Central African States (BEAC).
The increase, nearly 800 billion CFA francs in additional payments, highlights the growing adoption of digital finance across the CEMAC region, which includes Cameroon, Congo, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, the Central African Republic, and Chad.
The report found that airtime purchases accounted for the largest share of merchant payments, representing 57.34% of all Mobile Money transactions in 2023. The purchase of phone units is “the main merchant payment service offered by all institutions, including banks without telecom partnerships,” the report said.
A total of 818 million phone credit purchases were made in the region last year, representing 16.24% of the total value of all merchant payments.
This dominance has reshaped the market for neighborhood services. Many former call-box operators, once specialized in selling airtime and scratch cards, have become Mobile Money agents, as users increasingly buy credit directly on their phones, leading to the gradual phase-out of physical recharge cards.
Beyond airtime, Mobile Money services now cover a wider range of payments, including water, electricity, cable TV, healthcare, and school fees. Some operators also offer micro-insurance and microcredit, while several governments, including Cameroon, now allow taxes to be paid through the platform.
BRM
