Harnessing the Power of Mobile Money to Achieve the Sustainable Development Goals

Over the last decade, mobile money has been disrupting traditional financial services and transforming the lives of hundreds of millions of people across developing countries. Today, with over $1.3 billion a day processed by over 866 million registered accounts in 90 countries, mobile money has evolved into a broader payments platform that provides access to life-enhancing services, such as healthcare, education, employment, transportation and social protection. As national economies become increasingly dependent on digital technology, the power of mobile money to harness digital finance for sustainable development is strengthening.

This report brings together existing evidence to explore the ways in which mobile money is contributing to the digitalization of finance to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The insights presented here illustrate the potential of mobile money to help achieve the 2030 targets by driving sustainable and inclusive growth, and providing solutions to some of the world’s most intractable development challenges.