Mobile money
Mobile money is a service that lets people send and receive payments using a mobile phone, open to the unbanked and backed by a network of agents outside bank branches and ATMs. It is a major payout channel for remittances into Africa and parts of Asia.
How it works
The GSMA counted 2.3 billion registered mobile money accounts and 593 million accounts active in the last 30 days in 2025. More than $2.1 trillion flowed through mobile money that year; the industry took 20 years to pass $1 trillion and four more to double it. There were 347 live services in 102 countries.
International remittances through mobile money reached $45 billion in 2025, up 23%, across 381 million transfers. Sub-Saharan Africa accounted for three-quarters of that value, with 39% through West Africa and 28% through East Africa. Bank-to-mobile transfers reached $167 billion and mobile-to-bank transfers $163 billion.
Wallet payouts are cheap. The World Bank found that remittances sent to a mobile wallet cost 3.92% on average in Q3 2025, against a 6.36% global average. Agents carry the cash side: 11 million active agents cashed in $430 billion in 2025. Remittance firms reach wallets through mobile operators or aggregators; Remitly lists mobile wallet partners among its disbursement partners.
Example
A firm credits KES 30,000,000 a day to mobile money wallets in Kenya through an aggregator that requires a prefunded balance. Weekend volume runs 20% higher, at KES 36,000,000 a day. On Friday the balance must cover Friday's KES 30,000,000 plus KES 72,000,000 for the weekend, a total of KES 102,000,000.
Frequently asked questions
Is mobile money the same as mobile banking?
No. The GSMA's definition excludes services that use the phone only as another channel to a conventional bank account. Mobile money must be open to the unbanked and offer an agent network.
Can recipients turn mobile money into cash?
Yes, through agents, who also take cash in. Agents cashed in $430 billion in 2025.
Where Polynopsis fits
Polynopsis puts balances at mobile money payout partners on the same screen as bank accounts and wallets, with days of runway for each corridor.
Compared with
Related terms
Sources
- The State of the Industry Report on Mobile Money 2026 · GSMA
- Remittance Prices Worldwide, Issue 54, September 2025 · World Bank
- Remitly Global, Inc. Form 10-K for fiscal year 2025 · U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (EDGAR)
Know where all your money is.
Polynopsis gives cross-border payment teams one live position across every bank, payout partner, exchange and wallet, including money in flight, and warns before a corridor runs dry.
About Polynopsis
Polynopsis is liquidity management software for cross-border payment companies. The name joins poly, many, and synopsis, a seeing together: one live view of money spread across many banks, payout partners, exchanges and stablecoin wallets, including money in flight, with a warning before any corridor runs dry.
Why it is called Polynopsis · About Polynopsis · Glossary · Corridor runway calculator