Mobile money: Airtel Africa reaches 60.9 million customers and $130 billion in transactions

Airtel Africa processed $130.1 billion in mobile money transactions during the six months ending September 30, 2026, compared to $88.8 billion a year earlier, according to its half-year accounts reported on November 1, 2026, by the Nigerian website Nairametrics. The number of Airtel Money service customers reached 60.9 million, an increase of 22.4% year-on-year.

These figures state a simple fact: in a large part of Africa, the phone has become the bank. The group indicates that 31.4% of its telecom subscribers now use its electronic wallet, which is 2.8 percentage points higher than a year ago. Annualized, the value of transactions for the second quarter reached $275 billion.

A human network of 2.5 million agents

Behind the applications, there are people. Airtel Africa claims more than 2.5 million active mobile money agents, an increase of 25.3% year-on-year, more than 587,000 affiliated merchants (+85.5%), and more than 48,000 exclusive points of sale. This network of shops and kiosks is one of the few service industries that employs people on a massive scale in working-class neighborhoods and rural areas, where traditional bank branches do not go.

Revenue from the mobile money segment stood at $840 million for the half-year, compared to $623 million a year earlier, representing a 34.8% increase, or 25.8% at constant exchange rates, according to Nairametrics. The difference is partly explained by the appreciation of the Zambian kwacha. Financial services themselves (savings, credit, insurance) grew by 56.9% and account for 5.4% of revenue, compared to 4.3% a year earlier.

Customer money is not the operator's revenue

Balances held in escrow accounts with banks amounted to $1.49 billion as of September 30, 2026, compared to $1.16 billion a year earlier. Nairametrics clarifies that this sum belongs to the customers and should not be read as group revenue. The distinction is important: it is the savings of tens of millions of African households sitting in these accounts, and the question of its remuneration and protection remains a challenge for regulators on the continent.

The MyAirtel application claims 14 million monthly active users at the end of September 2026, compared to 8 million a year earlier, with $7.7 billion in transactions for the half-year. On the Lagos Stock Exchange, the stock closed at 6,300 naira on Friday, October 30, 2026, at its highest level in the last twelve months.