MTN Nigeria Fintech Records Marginal Revenue Increase of N22.8 Billion in Q1 2024
In the first quarter of 2024, MTN Nigeria’s fintech division saw a slight revenue uptick of N22.8 billion, despite the company’s overall operations recording a pre-tax loss of N575.69 billion.
The fintech segment experienced a 0.7% growth, influenced by industry-wide efforts to link National Identification Numbers (NIN) with mobile numbers and KYC validation.
The surge in adoption and activity within MTN’s fintech ecosystem drove a 25.6% year-over-year growth in transaction volume. However, despite the slight revenue increase, active wallets experienced a significant decline attributed to KYC requirements. MTN reported a decrease of 566k active wallet users in Q1, ending the quarter with 4.8 million active users.
In Q1 2024, MTN had 232.3k MoMo agents, including OTC agents, showing a decrease of 94.4k during the period. Excluding OTC transactions, MoMo agents numbered 189.6k. Additionally, the company onboarded over 75k merchants in Q1, surpassing a total of 400k merchants within its ecosystem.
Commenting on the earnings report, MTN Nigeria CEO Karl Toriola said,
“The KYC requirement and the delays in CBN approvals for some of our commercial initiatives impacted the growth of active wallets. We ended the quarter with 4.8 million active wallet users, representing a 566k decline in Q1. The growing adoption and increased activity within our fintech
ecosystem spurred transaction volume growth of 25.6% YoY. We ended the quarter with 232.3k MoMo agents, which includes OTC agents, reflecting a decline of 94. 4k in the period. Excluding OTC transactions, MoMo agents were 189.6k. We added more than 75k merchants in Q1, bringing the total number of merchants within our ecosystem to over 400k.”
Looking ahead, Mr. Toriola emphasized the company’s commitment to its fintech priorities, aiming to establish strong frameworks that facilitate increased wallet adoption and expand the merchant ecosystem. He highlighted MTN’s ongoing efforts in consumer education and awareness leveraging its distribution network.
