The GSMA is a global organisation unifyingthe mobile ecosystem to discover, developand deliver innovation foundational to positivebusiness environments and societal change.Our vision is to unlock the full power ofconnectivity so that people, industry,and society thrive. The GSMA’s Mobile Money programme works toaccelerate the development of the mobile moneyecosystem for the underserved. For more information, please contact us: www.gsma.com/mobilemoneymobilemoney@gsma.com Representing mobile operators and organisationsacross the mobile ecosystem and adjacentindustries, the GSMA delivers for its membersacross three broad pillars: Connectivity for Good,Industry Services and Solutions, and Outreach. This activity includes advancing policy, tacklingtoday’s biggest societal challenges, underpinningthe technology and interoperability that makemobile work, and providing the world’s largestplatform to convene the mobile ecosystemat the MWC and M360 series of events. We invite you to find out more at gsma.com Author Isabelle Carboni Acknowledgments The author is grateful to the following people for peer reviews and input:Lisa Chassin, Ashley Olson Onyango. Marketing support was provided byImelda LimandJoyce Kong. 01Contents standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when anunknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to01Introduction 04 02The state of merchant payments in Africa05 and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been theindustry’s standard dummy text ever since the 1500s,industry’s standard dummy text ever since the 1500s,when an unknown printer took a galley of type and03The potential impact of merchant payments07 scrambled it toLorem Ipsum is simply dummy text ofthe printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum hasthe printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum hasbeen the industry’s standard dummy text ever since04Barriers to scaling merchant payments08 of type and scrambled it toLorem Ipsum is simplydummy text of the printing and typesetting industry.Lorem Ipsum has been the industry’s standard dummytext ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printertook a galley of type and scrambled it toLorem Ipsumdummy text of the printing and typesetting industry.Lorem Ipsum has been the industry’s standard dummytext ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printertook a galley of type and scrambled it toLorem Ipsumis simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting05What’s working?5.1Beyond fees: creating value from data5.2The QR code opportunity101212 industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry’sstandard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when anunknown printer took a galley of type and scrambledstandard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when anunknown printer took a galley of type and scrambledit to06What will it take to increase uptakeof digital merchant payments?14 it to Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing6.1Building a digital financial ecosystemto scale merchant payments 15 01Introduction Mobile money continues to drive financial inclusion across low- andmiddle-income countries (LMICs). At the end of 2024, there were morethan half a billion active accounts transacting $4.6 billion a day1. InSub-Saharan Africa, adults with a mobile money account surged from27% in 2021 to 40% in 2024, and for a third of adults with a formalaccount, mobile money is the only financial account they have2. Digital merchant payments are emerging as one ofthe most competitive and fast-growing digital financialservices (DFS). They are instant, convenient andsafe, and while they can be made using a bank card,much of the increase has been driven by the growthin mobile-enabled payments and mobile money. In2024, 42% of adults in LMICs made a digital merchantpayment3, which translates to 2 billion people. from the formal financial system, this robust data ontransactions can boost creditworthiness, lowering therisk for lenders and costs to consumers. This providesan additional incentive to adopt digital payments. With an estimated $26 trillion in payments stillmade in cash globally in 20246, the opportunityfor digitalisation is immense. Digital publicinfrastructure (DPI) is providing the foundationfor instant payments, including via QR codes,which are driving rapid growth in markets suchas India, Indonesia and Brazil. In maturing mobilemoney markets, there is huge potential to buildon the trust and familiarity of P2P transfers todigitalise a greater share of merchant payments. From September 2023 to June 2024, theaverage number of merchant accountsregistered with mobile money providers grew by40%4, vastly increasing the number of locationswhere customers can pay digitally. With morethan $100 billion transacted in 2024, merchantpayments, or person-to-business (P2B), arenow the highest value transaction type afterperson-to-person (P2P) transfers5. Yet, there are key barriers that must be addressedfor merchant payments to scale. These include theaffordability of smartphones, financial and digital