Many Africans still not aware of mobile money transfer benefits

Despite the exciting developments in the continent’s mobile money transfer space, there is still a lack of knowledge among many Africans about the use of the technology.

This according to a survey conducted by the organisers of the MMT Africa conference, scheduled to be held in Nairobi, Kenya from 11 to 12 May.

More than 30% of mobile money professionals on the continent said that customer awareness about the technology was very poor, while 25% of those polled thought it was moderate. Just over 30% responded by saying knowledge about the benefits of mobile money was advanced.

“Awareness, use and knowledge of mobile money services – even though Africa is home to some of the world’s pioneering mobile money initiatives – is still one of the key challenges in educating people about the benefits of mobile money and encouraging service uptake and usage. This result highlights the disparity between the different stages of mobile money evolution and awareness throughout Africa,” says Andrea Monteiro, MMT Africa project director.

The majority of players in the banking and ICT sectors said that mobile money transfer is becoming increasingly important as a revenue generating activity. More than 55% responded by saying mobile money has become “significantly more important” as a source of revenue.

Monteiro added that hick-ups with financial regulators are still a cause for concern for service providers.