MTN Group, Africa’s largest telecommunications operator, says it is exploring banking licences in selected African markets as it considers using its own balance sheet to expand its lending business.
Ralph Mupita, Group Chief Executive Officer of MTN Group, said the company was assessing markets where it has large customer bases and significant funds held in mobile wallets.
Mupita said obtaining banking licences could eventually enable MTN to take deposits and use those funds to provide loans directly to customers.
“We’re beginning to explore, where it makes sense and where there are large customer bases (and) significant floats in wallets, whether it may make sense to have some sort of banking licence that enables us to take deposits,” he said.
MTN’s move would mark a shift from its current lending model, which largely relies on partnerships with banks and other financial institutions to provide the capital for loans.
The telecommunications company operates its Mobile Money (MoMo) platform across 16 African markets, with more than 70 million customers.
According to MTN, MoMo customers completed more than 23 billion transactions valued at over $500 billion, creating a significant ecosystem around payments, transfers and other financial services.
Lending has become an increasingly important part of the business, with loans facilitated through MTN’s BankTech operations reaching $3.5 billion in 2025.
The figure represented an increase of more than 80 per cent from the previous year, with Ghana and Uganda among the major markets contributing to the growth.
MTN has also expanded its lending products into Rwanda, Zambia, Cameroon and Congo-Brazzaville.
In Uganda, its credit offerings include MoKash, MoPesa, MoSente, XtraCash and MoMo Advance.
Under the existing partnership model, banks and other financial institutions typically provide the capital, while MTN contributes its customer base, distribution network and mobile wallet infrastructure.
Mupita said a banking licence could allow the company to take greater control of the funding side of its lending business in markets where the opportunity is sufficiently large.
“As such, we will then be lending over time off our own balance sheet. But also, it doesn’t mean we won’t do any partnership lending,” he said.
He stressed that MTN’s consideration of banking licences did not mean it intended to abandon its existing partnerships with financial institutions.
Rather, the company is examining whether direct funding of loans could complement its partnership-based model in selected markets.
The move reflects the growing convergence between telecommunications and financial services across Africa, as mobile operators leverage their large customer bases and digital platforms to provide payments, savings and credit services.
