NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Thursday, September 8, 2016

South Africa’s second largest mobile network by subscribers, MTN South Africa, has stopped signing up new Mobile Money customers as it studies the feasibility of the product.

In 2012, MTN partnered with the South African Bank of Athens, Pick n Pay and Boxer stores to launch a mobile money solution enabling the opening of simple bank accounts via phones.

Digital banking company Tyme, which has since been acquired by the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, helped install MTN’s mobile money solution.

In 2014, the operator launched a “Mobile Money Visa” card and a Pick n Pay-branded Sim card.

But MTN is now reviewing its mobile money service.