MTN has finally shut down its mobile money service in South Africa. The African-based telecoms giant alluded to the fact that the service was not viable in a country where around three quarters of the population already has a bank account.
MTN launched its South African service in 2012 after the success of Safaricom’s M-Pesa in east Africa convinced some executives the service was the industry’s next growth area.
“The operating costs of providing a mobile money platform has become prohibitive,” MTN said in a statement on Thursday.
This is the second telecoms company to shut down the service in South Africa. The first was Vodacom. Interestingly Vodacom and Safaricom (who operates the largely successful M-Pesa) are controlled by Vodafone in Britain.
MTN said its decision did not mean a complete exit from financial services.
“MTN is still committed to remaining a significant player in the financial services space and we are exploring opportunities in financial services space and other adjacent sectors,” it said.
