Telecommunication giant, MTN, as part of meeting new Bank of Ghana regulations for its mobile money operations has decided to reorganise the business in a major structural shift that would see “MoMo” standalone as an independent, well-capitalised financial technology company. The executive decision which requires approval by MTN shareholders at a yet-to-be-communicated date for an extraordinary general meeting is in fulfillment of the Payment Systems and Services Act of 2019 that mandates operators of electronic money to acquire a licence from the central bank. In view of this, MobileMoney Limited (MML) which operates under MTN would have to be incorporated into a separate entity called MobileMoney Fintech Limited pending approval by the shareholders.

Once completed, MML will be dissolved for MobileMoney Fintech Limited to apply for licence directly from BOG. For existing shareholders of MTN, what this means is all erstwhile MoMo assets, liabilities and employees will move into the new entity, however, it is noteworthy that the exercise is not a breakup but reorganisation to meet BOG requirements which failure to complete by end of year 2025 will risk non compliance by MTN and MoMo could lose its licence. Further, under the reorganisation, shareholders will maintain the same ownership level of MoMo through a Fintech Trust to be established which will hold the share of MobileMoney Fintech Limited on behalf of minority shareholders; maintain the same proportion exposure to MoMo earnings, the share of MoMo’s growth unchanged, and shareholders will gain exposure to a standalone fintech that could unlock more value in the future such as plans of listing MobileMoney Fintech Limited on the Ghana Stock Exchange among others.

MTN MoMo is one of the most important financial services in Ghana. It is the everyday tool for sending money, saving small amounts, paying bills, and running businesses. With a total of 17.7 million active users, representing a 4.1% year-on-year increase, MTN MoMo signals a key factor in the expansion of digital payments and financial inclusion in Ghana generating a revenue of GH¢4.4 billion (+54.4%) as at 2024 while providing over 600K direct and indirect jobs within the MTN ecosystem.