MTN Group, Africa’s largest telecommunications operator, has said that it is exploring banking licences in some of its markets as it considers using its own balance sheet to expand lending.
MTN already has something many banks spend years trying to build, millions of customers with money moving through their accounts every day.
Ralph Mupita, group CEO, MTN Group, said the company is considering banking licences in selected African markets and this could eventually allow MTN to take deposits and use its own balance sheet to fund loans.
That is different from the way most of its lending business works today.
MTN’s Mobile Money, or MoMo, platform already has over 70 million customers across 16 markets.
Those customers completed more than 23 billion transactions worth over $500 billion.
The company has built a large financial services business around that activity. But banks and other financial institutions still provide much of the capital behind its lending products.
MTN now wants to examine whether it can move further into that part of the business.
“We’re beginning to explore, where it makes sense and where there are large customer bases (and) significant floats in wallets, whether it may make sense to have some sort of banking licence that enables us to take deposits,” Mupita said.
MTN’s goal is not limited to getting another licence, but properly managing more of the financial relationship with customers it already has.
The telecom giant built MoMo around payments, transfers and other financial services. Lending has now become one of the faster-growing parts of the platform.
Loans facilitated through MTN’s BankTech operations reached $3.5 billion in 2025. That was more than 80% higher than the previous year.
Ghana and Uganda were among the main markets behind the increase.
MTN has also expanded lending products in Rwanda, Zambia, Cameroon and Congo-Brazzaville.
The company already has several credit products in Uganda, including MoKash, MoPesa, MoSente, XtraCash and MoMo Advance.
The model, however, has largely relied on partnerships.
A bank or financial institution supplies the capital, while MTN brings the customers, distribution network and mobile wallet infrastructure.
A banking licence could change that arrangement in selected markets.
MTN could eventually take deposits and lend from its own balance sheet instead of relying entirely on third-party funding.
“As such, we will then be lending over time off our own balance sheet. But also, it doesn’t mean we won’t do any partnership lending,” Mupita said.
The company is not saying it will replace its banking partners. It is looking at another way to fund loans where the market is large enough to justify it.
