Cameroon has solidified its leading position in the use of Mobile Money within the CEMAC (Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa) zone in 2024. According to a report by the Bank of Central African States (BEAC), the country accounts for 65.1% of Mobile Money accounts in the sub-region, an increase compared to the 62.1% recorded in 2023.
This dominance is also reflected in the value of transactions, where Cameroon represents 57% of the total financial volume of CEMAC. However, this proportion is slightly down compared to 2023, when it stood at 63.58%.
As of December 31, 2024, CEMAC had just over 51.2 million Mobile Money accounts, an increase of 28% year-on-year. Cameroon alone was home to 30.9 million of these accounts, representing an increase of more than 6 million compared to the 24.86 million in 2023. This growth is attributed to the increasing popularity of mobile banking applications, which allow customers to combine traditional banking services with the benefits of Mobile Money.
Technological developments have also played a crucial role. The separation of the telephone identifier from the payment account has allowed greater flexibility in opening Mobile Money accounts. Now, a single phone number can be used to open multiple accounts with different approved institutions.
In 2024, the volume of Mobile Money transactions in CEMAC reached 3.7 billion, with a total value of 34,778.5 billion FCFA, an increase of 20.33%. Cameroon carried out 26,773 billion FCFA of these transactions, far surpassing Congo and Gabon combined. This growth is supported by promotional campaigns, the recovery of activity by certain operators, interbank operability, the generalization of small amount payments and the emergence of new services such as micro-credits and international transfers.
Furthermore, diaspora remittances via Mobile Money to CEMAC increased by 77% in 2024, reaching 1.354 billion FCFA. The European Union remains the main source of these flows, followed by North America.
Mobile microcredit is also gaining ground in the CEMAC region, with 897,021 mobile microloans issued in 2024, for a total value of 14.45 billion FCFA. These loans, accessible via mobile phones, target users with limited access to traditional banking services.
Cameroon continues to dominate the Mobile Money market in CEMAC, but the growth of this sector is extending throughout the sub-region, driven by technological innovation and increasing adoption by the population.
