MTN Pursues Banking Licences Across Africa to Compete With Incumbent Banks
MTN Group is actively pursuing full banking licences across multiple African markets, a push that would formally redraw the competitive boundary between telecoms operators and banks on the continent. The strategy builds on MTN's previously reported target to grow its Nigerian MoMo fintech user base from 5 million to 30 million.
MTN Banking: the licence isn't the hard part — the regulator's price tag is
MTN already holds the float, already has 70 million active mobile money users, already processes $330 billion in transactions every half-year. The case for lending from its own balance sheet rather than sharing the margin with partner banks is obvious.
But after watching Nigeria's central bank revoke 47 microfinance licences in a single day, the real question isn't whether MTN can qualify — it's what regulators will demand as the price of entry for a company this large stepping into their territory.
A startup asking for a microfinance licence is one thing. A 317-million-customer telco asking to lend from its own balance sheet is a different conversation entirely. Regulators across the continent know exactly how much leverage they hold in that room.
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- MTN wants banking licences as Africa’s telecoms and banks converge around your money · techtrendske.co.ke · T2