Vodacom Group’s fintech business has surpassed 100 million customers for the first time, with the JSE-listed telecommunications operator reporting 103 million active financial services users in the year ended 31 March 2026 – cementing its position as the largest mobile money operator in Africa.
The milestone, disclosed in the group’s annual financial results on Monday, represents 17.4% year-on-year growth from the 87.7 million customers reported the previous year. The figure includes Kenya’s Safaricom on a 100% basis, in which Vodacom holds a 34.94% effective interest.
“Financial services remains a core pillar of our growth strategy and a powerful engine for inclusion,” said Vodacom Group CEO Shameel Joosub in commentary with the results. “Reflecting the strength of this momentum and the scale of opportunity ahead, we have upgraded our Vision 2030 ambition for financial services customers to 130 million, from 120 million previously.”
The customer growth was matched by a strong revenue performance. Group financial services revenue climbed 19.6% to R16.8-billion on a reported basis, or 23.1% on a normalised basis that strips out currency movements and other adjustments. That outpaced the 12.9% normalised growth in total group service revenue, lifting fintech’s contribution to 12.6% of the consolidated service revenue mix.
Excluding Safaricom, Vodacom’s consolidated fintech customer base reached 59.3 million, up from 50.7 million. Safaricom’s M-Pesa added 43.7 million active customers on a 100% basis.
Egyptian growth engine
Egypt emerged as the biggest growth engine. Vodafone Cash revenue climbed 48.2% in local currency, contributing 8.7% of Egyptian service revenue. The country added more than three million active fintech users in the year to reach 14.7 million – a 28.5% jump. Egypt is now Vodacom’s second-largest consolidated fintech market by customer count, narrowly behind South Africa’s 15.3 million.
In South Africa, Vodacom’s fintech arm – anchored by the VodaPay super-app – grew revenue 8.1% to R3.7-billion. Insurance was the biggest driver, with policies across contract, device, funeral and life cover reaching three million. The merchant base extended to more than 11 200 acceptance points.
Read: Vodacom Group customer base swells past 237 million
Across the international business – which spans Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique and Lesotho – M-Pesa revenue grew 22.8% on a normalised basis to R9.9-billion. Tanzania remained the largest international fintech market with R5-billion in revenue, while the international M-Pesa merchant base grew 32.3% to 705 000.
The revenue mix continues to shift as Vodacom scales more sophisticated financial products. “Beyond core” services – which include lending, savings, insurance and merchant offerings – reached 46.4% of M-Pesa revenue, edging closer to outweighing the traditional peer-to-peer, cash-in and cash-out functionality that has historically defined mobile money in Africa. Loans facilitated across the international business grew 13% to R26.7-billion.
Rival MTN Group also recently crossed its own threshold: its MoMo platform processed $500.3-billion in transaction value in the year to 31 December 2025, a 37.6% jump in constant currency, putting the pan-African operator past the half-trillion-dollar mark for the first time.
Read: MTN’s mobile money machine
Vodacom’s mobile money platforms, including Safaricom, processed $525.6-billion, up 16.6%. With two of its largest mobile operators processing more than a $1-trillion annually, the value of mobile money to the African continent is undeniable. – © 2026 NewsCentral Media
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