MTN Completes Purchase Of 7.17% Minority Shareholding In MoMo PSB
MTN Nigeria Communication Plc has completed the purchase of the 7.17 per cent minority shareholding in MoMo Payment Service Bank Limited (MoMo PSB) previously held by Acxani Capital Limited.
According to the company’s notice to the Nigerian Exchange Limited seen by THE WHISTLER, following the completion of the transaction, MoMO PSB is now a wholly owned subsidiary of MTN Nigeria.
In the statement signed by the Company Secretary, Uto Ukpanah, the management believes the transaction will simplify and strengthen MoMo PSB’s operations which is crucial for achieving its growth ambitions.
MTN Nigeria recently announced that active wallets on its MoMo Payment Service Bank (PSB) reached 5.5 million in the second quarter of 2024.
The company experienced a recovery in its mobile money business following a 9 per cent decline in wallet numbers in Q1 2024, attributed to the impact of the National Identification Number (NIN) requirement for Know Your Customer (KYC) validation.
According to MTN’s half-year 2024 financial results, MoMo active wallets increased by 701,000 in Q2, reaching the current total of 5.5 million.
“We are pleased with the momentum in wallet adoption in Q2, following the challenges in Q1 from the NIN requirement for KYC validation, which affected approximately one million active wallets,” stated CEO of MTN Nigeria, Karl Toriola.
This growth in mobile money users positively impacted the company’s fintech revenue, which grew by 11 per cent over the six months and saw a 22.2 per cent increase in Q2. MTN’s fintech revenue rose to N48.6 billion in H1 2024, up from N43.6 billion in the same period last year.
Toriola noted that the fintech revenue growth was largely driven by its airtime lending product, Xtratime, and the increasing adoption of MoMo services.
However, he also disclosed that the total number of MoMo agents, including those facilitating over-the-counter (OTC) transactions, decreased by 24,000 to 302,800 during the review period as the uptake of wallets and self-service channels increased.
