Mobile Money Accounts Up Sharply in 2015, GSMA Says

Mobile money accounts increased globally 31 percent to 411 million in 2015, the GSM Association said in a report released Tuesday. More than a billion transactions were processed in December, and mobile money is available in 85 percent of nations where most of the population lacks access to formal financial institutions, GSMA reported. In 2015, there were 29 cross-border mobile money initiatives that connected 19 countries, the group said. “Mobile money is driving social and economic impact for millions of people in emerging markets,” said John Giusti, chief regulatory officer of GSMA, in a news release. “Over the last decade, mobile money has done more to extend the reach of financial services than traditional bricks and mortar banking were able to do over the last century.”