IFC Study Shows $2.5 Billion Handled in Cote d’Ivoire e-money System in 2013
IFC and The MasterCard Foundation, shows there were over 2.0 million active users of mobile financial services in Cote d’Ivoire in 2013 and nearly $2.5 billion in e-money transactions during the year. The study, based on new market data from the BCEAO, highlights the market’s strong performance and potential for increasing access to affordable financial services for low income households, small-scale businesses and in hard-to-reach rural areas.
Cassandra Colbert, IFC Resident Representative in Cote d’Ivoire, said, “Cote d’Ivoire appears at the forefront of mobile money adoption in the West African Monetary Union and this new study of market trends also provides important leads to other markets in the region.”
The Overview of Cote d’Ivoire Mobile Financial Services Market Data 2013 describes the growth of customers, transactions, and transaction values and types. The overall performance indicators show that mobile financial services have reached a reasonably high level of adoption in Cote d’Ivoire, with 12,000 mobile financial services agents across the country. Transaction values for cash in and cash out were on average $50 each, suggesting there is unexplored potential to increase mobile money usage among very low income clients.
The report analyzes the observed popular phenomenon of ‘safe storage’ of cash in mobile wallets and recommends the market develop products to meet the demand for secure storage and savings.
Susie Lonie, mobile financial services expert and co-author of the study, said, “Cote d’Ivoire is considered a sprinter and one of the fastest growing and most successful mobile money markets in the world. Differently from East Africa, the most common usage in Cote d’Ivoire is not person-to-person transactions, but Ivoirians seem to be using e-wallets more as a safe storage tool”.
The study was produced in collaboration with the BCEAO, which contributed the e-money data. It was published by the Partnership for Financial Inclusion, a joint $37.4 million initiative of IFC and The MasterCard Foundation that aims to bring formal financial services to 5.3 million low-income individuals and small-scale entrepreneurs in Sub-Saharan Africa by 2017. An important objective of the Partnership is to produce and share research on financial inclusion in Sub-Saharan Africa for the public good.