Kenya Sees Surge in Mobile Money Loans and Savings, Says GSMA Report

By Ken Muthomi - Reporter

Kenya, 6 April 2026 - Kenya’s mobile money ecosystem is increasingly driving savings and borrowing, according to the latest State of the Industry Report on Mobile Money 2026 by the GSMA.

According to the report, out of the 2.3 billion registered mobile money accounts recorded in the previous year, Africa accounted for more than two-thirds of the accounts.

East African Countries, including Tanzania, Uganda, and Kenya, emerged as the leading horses.

“At 40% of adults, Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest rate of mobile money account ownership worldwide.10 It also stands out because 20% of adults have mobile money as their only financial account,” the report stated.

“Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda have some of the highest mobile money account ownership rates in the world,” it added.

In Kenya alone, 32% of adults got their loans from Mobile Money Providers, with 25% of them borrowing through their mobile money accounts.

The report shows a similar trend in savings, with individuals increasingly choosing to save money in their mobile accounts instead of depositing it in banks or SACCOs.

“A larger share got a loan through a mobile money account in 2024. At the same time, bank-only borrowing decreased among those who borrowed only in this way,” the report read.

Globally, the mobile money industry has reached unprecedented levels, with 2.3 billion registered accounts and more than $2.1 trillion in transactions recorded in 2025.

Kenya, home to Safaricom’s M-Pesa platform and other services such as Airtel Money, remains at the centre of this growth.

In recent years, these platforms have expanded their portfolio beyond money transfers to include savings products, credit facilities such as nano-loans, and insurance services.

More than half of mobile money service providers per cent reported profitability in 2025, supported by increased usage and diversified revenue streams, according to the report.

“In Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, most adults who saved formally used a mobile money account rather than an account at a bank, microfinance institution (MFI) or credit union,” the report says.