The fintech arm of MTN Nigeria recorded a marginal revenue increase of N22.8 billion in the first quarter (Q1) of 2024, amid a pre-tax loss of N575.69 billion in the company’s overall operations.
In Q1 2024 financial result, MTN fintech recorded significant gains of 0.7% growth which was impacted by industry-wide exercises of linking National Identification Numbers (NIN) with mobile numbers and KYC validation.
The growing adoption and increased activity within MTN’s fintech ecosystem spurred transaction volume growth of 25.6% YoY. Meanwhile, despite the marginal revenue increase, active wallets significantly declined due to KYC requirements. MTN reportedly ended the quarter with 4.8 million active wallet users, representing a 566k decline in Q1.
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Also, in quarter 1 of 2024, with 232.3k MoMo agents, which includes OTC agents, reflecting a decline of 94.4k in the period. Excluding OTC transactions, MoMo agents were 189.6k. The company added more than 75k merchants in Q1, bringing the total number of merchants within our ecosystem to over 400k.”
Commenting on the earnings report, MTN Nigeria CEO Karl Toriola said,
“The KYC requirement and the delays in CBN approvals for some of our commercial initiatives impacted the growth of active wallets. We ended the quarter with 4.8 million active wallet users, representing a 566k decline in Q1. The growing adoption and increased activity within our fintech ecosystem spurred transaction volume growth of 25.6% YoY.
“We ended the quarter with 232.3k MoMo agents, which includes OTC agents, reflecting a decline of 94. 4k in the period. Excluding OTC transactions, MoMo agents were 189.6k. We added more than 75k merchants in Q1, bringing the total number of merchants within our ecosystem to over 400k.”
Moving forward, Mr. Toriola stated that the company remains focused on its fintech priority to build robust structures that support the acceleration of wallet adoption and the growth of our merchant ecosystem.
He further added that MTN will continue to drive consumer education and awareness, leveraging its distribution network. Additionally, there will be an expansion of the bouquet of services from basic to advanced services to boost adoption and monetization, which are crucial steps towards scaling the fintech business and driving financial inclusion.
Recall that after posting an unimpressive first quarter report for 2024, with a pre-tax loss of N575bn pre-tax loss, MTN disclosed that this was spurred by a challenging operating environment in the first quarter, with rising inflation and continued naira depreciation off an already low base.
As continued elevated inflation and unpredictable foreign exchange rates remain significant challenges for businesses, MTN disclosed that it remains focused on sustaining commercial momentum, accelerating service revenue growth, unlocking operational efficiencies, and strengthening its balance sheet to improve the profitability of its business, optimizing capex, and reducing forex exposure.Notably, it remains focused on reducing the various exposures the business has to dollar volatility.