by SAVIOUS KWINIKA
JOHANNESBURG – A FINANCIAL technology company has forecast local payment methods (LPM) to further open up the African market to a number of global e-commerce opportunities.

This as the total value of mobile money transactions in emerging markets is predicted to exceed $870 billion in 2026.

In sub-Saharan Africa, mobile payments are expected to grow by over 60 percent in the next five years.

LPM is seen as one of prominent payment trends in emerging markets for 2022.

LPM has grown phenomenally in the sub-Saharan since appearing in the early 2000s with Safaricom, a Kenyan mobile network operator, offering one of the first mobile payment solutions.

While mobile payments were not automatically available to each sub-Saharan country, as some still lacked technical solutions, it has become a widely spread trend that continues appearing in more African countries.

Frank Breuss, Chief Executive Officer of Nikulipe, a fintech company creating and connecting LPM to access emerging and fast-growing markets, noted that this payment trend has grown popular due to the particular circumstances sub-Saharan Africa.

Breuss noted more than half of the African population remained without a traditional bank account even today, hence solutions like mobile payments are most convenient for the region.

Africa’s population is estimated at 1,3 billion.

“Mobile phones are widely available across the region, making mobile money payments the primary way for Africans to pay for goods and services like groceries, food delivery or taxi rides, or even utility bills.”

Over 495 million people were using mobile services in sub-Saharan Africa at the end of 2020.

It is predicted that by 2025 this number will reach 615 million—equivalent to half of the region’s population.

– CAJ News