This collaboration marks a significant milestone in expanding financial inclusion and driving payment innovation across Ghana and the broader West African region.

Through this collaboration, Network’s clients in Ghana can now process mobile money payments from all providers using their current N-Genius point-of-sale terminals.

This development strengthens Network’s role as a third-party payment processor (TPP), broadening its service offerings and demonstrating its commitment to adapting to evolving market needs.

Chinwe Uzoho, regional managing director, Western Africa – Processing at Network International, stated, “This partnership with Blu Penguin reinforces our commitment to advancing digital commerce and financial inclusion. By integrating mobile money transaction capabilities into our N-Genius terminals, we are providing a seamless payment experience that caters to the needs of both banked and unbanked individuals, helping businesses and financial institutions offer greater transaction flexibility.”

Sebastian Yalley, managing director, Ghana – Processing at Network International, added: “This collaboration represents a significant advancement for Ghana’s payments landscape. It enhances our service offerings for banks by combining the strong mobile money processing capabilities of Blu Penguin with our industry-leading card infrastructure to provide a unified app for merchants to deliver secure, accessible, and convenient payment capabilities.”

Through this collaboration, Blu Penguin will integrate its technology with Network International’s acquiring infrastructure, ensuring a secure and efficient backend for processing mobile money transactions across major telecom networks. 

With operations in Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, and DRC Congo, Blu Penguin’s mobile-first strategy streamlines transactions, making digital payments more accessible to millions of consumers across the region.

Tenu Awoonor, founder of Blu Penguin, commented, “This collaboration goes beyond technology integration; it is a strategic effort to improve payment accessibility and convenience for merchants in Africa. By partnering with Network International, we are equipping banks and merchants with the ability to offer multiple payment options in a single app, making transactions more seamless.

“We get to leverage our respective strengths in a collaborative effort with financial institutions to drive faster adoption and usage of digital payments to support greater financial inclusion in Africa.”

The initial phase of the partnership has commenced, and plans are to enable this feature across all financial institutions using Network International’s N-Genius terminals in Ghana and ultimately Sub-Sahara Africa.

Revealed in World Bank’s Global Findex 2025 report, 40% of adults in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) saved money formally in 2024, a 16 percentage point surge since 2021, the fastest growth in over a decade. 

Sub-Saharan Africa, home to the world’s most active mobile money users, recorded a 12-point jump in formal savings, reaching 35% of adults.

In Nigeria, Mobile money operators, including OPay, PalmPay, and Paga, processed transactions valued at ₦71.5 trillion between January and December 2024, according to Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) data. 

This represents a 53.4% increase from ₦46.6 trillion recorded in 2023, stressing how mobile-based financial services are penetrating both urban and rural populations.

“Digital finance can convert this potential into reality,” said Ajay Banga, president of the World Bank Group. “We’re helping countries get their people access to new or improved digital IDs, modernising payment systems, and removing regulatory roadblocks—so that people and businesses have the financing they need to innovate and create jobs.”

Even with these advances, the global unbanked population is at 1.3 billion adults. Shockingly, more than half of this figure, around 650 million people, are concentrated in just eight countries: Nigeria, Bangladesh, China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Mexico, and Pakistan.

Women account for 55% of the unbanked globally. The poorest households are also disproportionately excluded, with 52% of the unbanked population drawn from the lowest 40% income bracket. Education is a factor too, 62% of unbanked adults have only primary-level education or less.

Interestingly, mobile technology could help narrow this gap. The World Bank found that approximately 900 million of the unbanked own a mobile phone, and over half of them, about 530 million, have smartphones, showing potential for future financial access through digital channels.

In Sub-Saharan Africa, mobile money is the main driver of financial inclusion. Today, 15% of adults globally own mobile money accounts, a figure much higher within Africa. The region continues to lead in mobile wallet usage globally.

Bill Gates, chair of the Gates Foundation, highlighted the progress: “More people than ever have the financial tools to invest in their futures and build economic resilience, including women and others previously left behind. This is real progress.”

For women in LMICs, account ownership has nearly doubled over the past decade, rising from 37% in 2011 to 73% in 2024. Globally, account ownership among women now stands at 77% compared to 81% among men.

Regional breakdowns reveal sharp contrasts:

• In Sub-Saharan Africa, account ownership increased from 49% in 2021 to 58% in 2024.
• South Asia now reports 80% account ownership, with India leading, 90% of both men and women there now own financial accounts.
• Middle East and North Africa saw account ownership climb to 53%, up from 45% in 2021, though formal savings remain at just 17%.
• East Asia and the Pacific lead with smartphone ownership at 86% and account access at 83%.

In Nigeria specifically, fintech and mobile money platforms are driving financial access into underserved markets. Operators like OPay, PalmPay, and Moniepoint are expanding transaction volumes and also opening millions of mobile wallets for the financially excluded.

However, phone ownership gaps are a challenge. Only nine LMICs report mobile phone ownership below 65%, yet disparities persist among women and the poorest households. In South Asia alone, over 300 million women remain without mobile phones, with affordability noted as the primary reason.

Real-time digital payment systems like India’s UPI and Brazil’s PIX are being spotlighted as models that could help bridge financial access gaps. These systems enable low-cost, instant transactions, offering blueprints for African and other LMIC policymakers.

In the words of the World Bank: “The impact that mobile phones and the internet are having extends not only to account ownership, but also to potentially productive uses, including saving formally and making or receiving digital payments.”

In summary, mobile money has become an important tool for financial inclusion across Africa, especially in Nigeria. But the digital divide means millions are still locked out of financial systems.

In 2025 alone, the market is already valued at $329 billion, with transaction inefficiencies costing up to $5 billion each year. As someone tracking this space closely, I can say there’s a good promise, but so are the fractures beneath the surface.

At the centre of this growth are two facts, first, mobile money in sub-Saharan Africa handled 30% of all remittances in 2022, worth $16 billion. Second, Africa processed 66% of all global mobile money transactions that same year.

Fintechs have stepped into a market largely abandoned by traditional banks and burdened by high remittance fees, fragmented regulations, and unreliable forex infrastructure.

Formal remittance inflows to Africa hit $90.2 billion in 2023, almost double what the continent received in foreign aid. However, informal flows are still a huge blind spot.

Between 35% and 75% of total remittances go unrecorded, meaning the real market size is likely far larger than official figures reveal. The reliance on informal channels isn’t by choice, it’s driven by survival.

Formal fees average 7.4%, while digital solutions can slash that to between 1.5% and 3%. When fees mean the difference between buying medicine or going without, the decision is simple.

The migration from traditional to digital is happening, but not fast enough. Transaction times remain slow. Banks still dominate high-value payments, with settlement windows stretching from one to five days.

In contrast, blockchain-enabled platforms can finalise transfers within seconds, at a fraction of the cost. Even companies like Wise are delivering same-day transactions, using pooled liquidity to avoid FX markups entirely.

A blockchain transfer could cost under $10, while a $5 million bank transaction might rack up $150,000 in fees and take days to complete.

The Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS), launched in 2022, was supposed to change that. It enables local currency transactions across borders, cutting the need for dollars or euros.

According to the report, PAPSS could save the continent $5 billion annually. But, its adoption has been slow, hindered by liquidity constraints and regulatory hesitation.

And this is beyond a problem of cost or technology, it’s human. In West Africa, informal traders move billions in goods across borders. Côte d’Ivoire and Burkina Faso alone channelled $1.5 billion in informal remittances.

These traders use whatever means are available, from mobile money to couriers, to settle their accounts. In Southern Africa, migrants working in mines and households in South Africa sent $17 billion back home in 2022.

Zimbabwe received $1.9 billion from South Africa alone. But they paid a steep price, 12% to 15% in transaction fees, often through risky and unregulated routes.

Meanwhile, East Africa leads in mobile money adoption, with 60% of remittances already going digital. Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda benefit from platforms like M-Pesa and MTN MoMo, slashing fees and boosting access.

In Central Africa, however, 70% of transactions are still informal, and financial infrastructure remains scarce. In North Africa, formal banking dominates but faces pressure from crypto-backed options and Middle East-driven remittance flows.

Even as fintechs like Chipper Cash, Flutterwave, and Afriex challenge the incumbents, they’re running into their own set of walls. Regulatory fragmentation, licensing bottlenecks, and lack of interoperability are real threats.

Many African countries still don’t allow full electronic KYC, forcing users to redo verification across platforms. Forex policies in places like Nigeria make it nearly impossible to predict costs. Liquidity shortages force businesses to clear transactions offshore, adding further layers of expense.

Despite these obstacles, digital innovation is saving African families between $4 and $6 billion annually. And the potential is far greater. If mobile money networks across Africa could integrate seamlessly, another $5 billion in savings could be unlocked. Blockchain could cut transaction costs by 99% and bring settlement times down to seconds.

“The most successful companies will efficiently scale, adeptly navigate regulatory frameworks, and provide seamless, affordable transaction services.” Companies in this sector are not limiting themselves to just innovation, but strategy, partnerships, and policy alignment.

Here’s where we stand: the fate of Africa’s cross-border payments is digital, decentralised, and mobile-first. But that future won’t arrive by accident.

It will require regulators to harmonise policies, fintechs to prioritise infrastructure and liquidity, and investors to see past short-term profits into long-term system-wide gains.

In our continent, $200 can mean a life changed, or a future secured, every transaction matters. But we’ve got a long way to go.