Mobile money across ECOWAS and CEMAC: the 2026 picture

Mobile money is no longer a promise, it is the region's financial infrastructure. For a business, understanding its scale helps decide where to invest. Here is a sourced, figure-by-figure picture, from WAEMU to CEMAC.

A scale that has become considerable

Across sub-Saharan Africa, the GSMA counts more than 1.1 billion registered mobile money accounts, roughly two thirds of the world total. In 2025, the value of mobile money transactions in West Africa reached nearly 498 billion dollars, and the region concentrates the largest number of live services in the world.

In WAEMU, growth is not slowing

The BCEAO's 2024 report on digital financial services gives the measure:

• 248 million electronic money accounts, up nearly 19% in a year.
• 76.8 million active accounts.
• Mobile transactions up 23.6% in value.
• A regional financial inclusion rate estimated at 73.6%, driven largely by mobile.

In a decade, mobile money has moved from alternative to norm. For a business, the question is no longer “should we accept it”, but “how do we accept it properly”.

CEMAC on the same curve

Central Africa starts from further back but follows the same trajectory, with a growing number of services and accelerating adoption. Companies operating in Gabon and Congo see the same shift in habits as those in West Africa.

What it changes for your business

Adoption at this level has a direct consequence: offering mobile money is no longer an advantage, it is a prerequisite. The stakes move to the quality of the integration: accepting every operator, reconciling simply, staying compliant. That is the subject of our guide on accepting mobile money on your website.

Building on solid ground

UrbanPay is built for this regional reality: several operators, one integration, unified reconciliation. Discover it on the Servicespage, and for the overall logic, read unifying your mobile money payments.