The annual value of mobile money transactions in Uganda is now approximately five times greater than the entire commercial banking sector\u2019s balance sheet, underscoring a fundamental shift in the nation\u2019s financial ecosystem, according to new data from the Bank of Uganda.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mobile money transactions soared to 253.7 trillion shillings in the year ending June 2024, representing a growth of more than 31 percent from 192.9 trillion shillings recorded the previous year. Over the same period, commercial bank assets grew at a steady but slower rate to about 53 trillion shillings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This growth in mobile money transactions is in tandem with the global growth in financial technology, or fintech, where the market is projected to expand annually by 15 percent to 25 percent, well ahead of the traditional financial services industry. Africa leads this transformation, with mobile money services on the continent handling an estimated $1.1 trillion in annual transactions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The striking disparity in financial magnitude highlights the distinct roles that fintechs and banks now occupy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Commercial banks remain essential for holding large deposits, extending medium- and long-term credit and financing major corporate and government projects. Banks are financially stable, maintaining sector-wide assets of about 53 trillion shillings and posting record profits of roughly 1.6 trillion shillings in 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fintechs, by contrast, specialize in high-volume, low-value transactions, efficiently moving huge sums daily. Their structural advantage allows for rapid scalability through mobile apps and basic Unstructured Supplementary Service Data codes, enabling them to serve millions of customers, including those who live far from bank branches or lack the documentation required for formal accounts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bank of Uganda officials emphasize that the relationship between the two sectors is largely one of complementarity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cPayment service providers rely on the banking system for settlement, custody of funds, and other core infrastructures, while banks benefit from the increased transaction volumes, deeper customer engagement, and expanded digital rails,\u201d said Kenneth Egesa, the Bank of Uganda director of communication.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The financial system is evolving toward a model where the 54 licensed payment service providers offer speed, accessibility and innovation at the \u201cfront end,\u201d while commercial banks supply the capital strength and regulatory backbone at the \u201cback end.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This emerging collaboration is bolstered by regulation. The National Payment Systems Act and its licensing framework have formalized the fintech sector, placing payment service providers, electronic money issuers and switching operators under the central bank\u2019s supervision to protect consumers and ensure investor confidence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Vincent Tumwijukye, chairman of the Financial Technologies Service Providers Association, said this effective partnership has helped propel the economy by removing bottlenecks that once slowed the flow of finance.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The annual value of mobile money transactions in Uganda is now approximately five times greater than the entire commercial banking<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16167,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[65],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16166","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-national-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Screenshot_20221109-163514.webp","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4391,"url":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/mtn-leads-in-mobile-money-transactions-that-have-hit-a-record-of-shs-113-trillion\/","url_meta":{"origin":16166,"position":0},"title":"MTN LEADS IN MOBILE MONEY TRANSACTIONS THAT HAVE HIT A RECORD OF SHS.113 TRILLION","author":"UgandaUpdate","date":"October 26, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Telecom giants MTN has led all the way as mobile money transactions\u00a0hit a record Shs113.38 Trillion according to figures released by Bank of Uganda for the Financial Year 2020\/21.The Central Bank Governor Prof. Emmanuel Tumusiime-Mutebile said that in accordance with \u00a0National Payment Systems Act 2020, each of the companies involved\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Business"","block_context":{"text":"Business","link":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/category\/business\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/MTN-Mobile-Money.jpg","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2112,"url":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/nssf-goes-to-all-ugandan-doorsteps-with-300-service-centres\/","url_meta":{"origin":16166,"position":1},"title":"NSSF Goes To All Ugandan Doorsteps With 300 Service Centres","author":"UgandaUpdate","date":"October 21, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"While NSSF members continue savoring the recently introduced virtual experiences of transacting using online services that include e-benefits claim, the older mobile NSSF GO App as well as the ordinary mobile sms srvice, the Fund has rolled out yet another convenience \u2013 physical service centres near you. 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