As of March 2025, Tanzania recorded 65.7 million mobile money accounts, showing a significant increase from 29.8 million in 2020 — a growth of 120% over five years. In the first quarter of 2025 alone, accounts grew from 64.3 million in January to 65.7 million in March, adding 1.3 million new users. The market is led by M-Pesa with over 26 million accounts, followed by Mixx by Yas (20.2 million) and Airtel Money (12.1 million). Transaction volumes also surged, reaching 10.3 billion in 2024, up from 3.8 billion in 2020, reflecting a 172% increase. These trends highlight the critical role mobile money plays in Tanzania’s growing digital and inclusive economy.

1. Mobile Money Accounts — January to March 2025

What This Tells Us:

• Growth Trend:
  From January to March 2025, mobile money accounts increased by 1,335,129 (from 64.34M to 65.67M), showing continued growth in usage and access.
• Dominant Players:
  • M-Pesa (Vodacom) leads with over 26 million accounts (40% of total).
  • Mixx by Yas (formerly Tigo Pesa) holds steady at around 20.2 million accounts (31%).
  • Airtel Money is also strong, growing from 11.8M to 12.1M in Q1.
• Smallest Player:
  • Azam Pesa has fewer than 40,000 accounts — under 0.1% market share — indicating it is still in early stages or niche focused.
• Stability: T-Pesa (TTCL) maintained the same number of accounts across all three months (1.5 million), suggesting either stagnant growth or a stable, focused user base.

2. Mobile Money Subscriptions and Transactions (2020–2024)

What This Tells Us:

• Explosive 5-Year Growth:
  • Mobile money accounts grew by 111%, from 29.8M (2020) to 63.2M (2024).
  • Transactions more than doubled (172% increase), from 3.77B in 2020 to 10.27B in 2024.
• Year-by-Year Trends:
  • The biggest account growth occurred between 2022 and 2023, with an increase of nearly 13.4 million accounts — coinciding with the rollout of new digital services and network expansions.
  • Transactions followed a similar trend, especially between 2021 and 2024, where usage jumped significantly — suggesting increased trust and reliance on mobile money for daily transactions.
• Digital Financial Inclusion: These figures reflect Tanzania's success in expanding access to digital financial services, especially in rural and underserved areas. It highlights the role of mobile money in boosting economic participation, especially among the unbanked.

Key Takeaways

1. Mobile Money is Strong and Still Growing in 2025

• By March 2025, Tanzania had over 65.6 million mobile money accounts, up from 64.3 million in January — a growth of 1.3 million new accounts in just 3 months.
• This shows continued trust and adoption of mobile money platforms, especially for daily financial needs like sending, receiving, saving, and paying bills.

2. M-Pesa is the Market Leader, But Competition is Healthy

• M-Pesa (Vodacom) leads the market with over 26 million users, about 40% of all mobile money accounts.
• Mixx by Yas (formerly Tigo Pesa) follows with 20.2 million, and Airtel Money with 12.1 million.
• This indicates strong competition among providers, which is good for innovation, pricing, and service quality.

3. Massive 5-Year Growth in Financial Inclusion (2020–2024)

• Mobile money accounts grew by 111%: from 29.8 million in 2020 to 63.2 million in 2024.
• Mobile money transactions grew by 172%: from 3.77 billion in 2020 to 10.27 billion in 2024.
• This shows that mobile money has become a vital part of the economy, especially in reaching the unbanked population.

4. Mobile Money is Driving Tanzania’s Digital Economy

• The data proves that mobile money is no longer just a tool for sending money — it’s a foundation for digital commerce, savings, credit, and everyday transactions.
• As more people sign up and use mobile money, it helps expand financial access, improve service delivery, and boost economic inclusion, especially in rural areas.

Tanzania’s financial transactions landscape is undergoing a significant digital transformation, with Electronic Fund Transfers (EFT) surging by 44.7% in volume from 14.57 million in 2020 to 21.08 million in 2024, while cheque transactions continue to decline. The value of EFT transactions grew by 77%, reaching TZS 16,769.88 billion in 2024, signaling a strong shift toward digital payments. Conversely, TZS cheque usage dropped by 36% in volume and 17% in value, while USD cheque transactions plummeted by 44% in volume and 35.7% in value over the same period. This trend reflects the increasing adoption of faster, more secure electronic payment methods, reducing reliance on traditional cheques in Tanzania's financial system.

The data from Electronic Fund Transfers (EFT), Tanzanian Shilling (TZS) cheque transactions, and United States Dollar (USD) cheque transactions highlight key shifts in Tanzania's financial landscape, indicating a preference for digital payments while traditional cheque usage declines.

1. Electronic Fund Transfers (EFT): Strong and Consistent Growth

• Volume of transactions rose from 14.57 million in 2020 to 21.08 million in 2024, reflecting a 44.7% increase over five years.
• Value of transactions increased from TZS 9,479.10 billion in 2020 to TZS 16,769.88 billion in 2024, growing by 77% over the period.
• The growth rate in volume and value remained positive every year, with double-digit growth in 2023 (13%) and 2024 (11%).

What It Means:

✅ Rising preference for digital payments as more businesses and individuals shift from paper-based payments to electronic fund transfers.
✅ Higher transaction values indicate increased economic activity, financial inclusion, and confidence in digital banking infrastructure.

2. TZS Cheque Transactions: Steady Decline

• The volume of TZS cheque transactions fell by 36%, from 651,829 in 2020 to 418,388 in 2024.
• The value of transactions dropped from TZS 2,118.08 billion in 2020 to TZS 1,758.04 billion in 2024, a 17% decline.
• The rate of decline accelerated over time, with a 14% drop in cheque volume and a 7% drop in cheque value in 2024 alone.

What It Means:

✅ Paper-based payments are rapidly declining, as businesses and individuals move towards faster, more efficient digital alternatives.
✅ Reduced cheque dependency indicates financial sector modernization, possibly driven by regulatory support and increased banking efficiency.

3. USD Cheque Transactions: Sharpest Decline

• Volume of USD cheque transactions declined by 44%, from 113,643 in 2020 to 63,244 in 2024.
• Value of transactions dropped from USD 238.22 million in 2020 to USD 153.04 million in 2024, a 35.7% reduction.
• The biggest single-year drop occurred in 2024, with a 28% decline in volume and 20% decline in value.

What It Means:

✅ Foreign currency cheque usage is declining even faster than local cheque transactions, signaling an even greater shift towards electronic payments in international trade and finance.
✅ Declining USD cheque usage could indicate improved international banking channels, such as wire transfers, mobile money, and SWIFT transactions.

Final Thought: Digital Over Paper-Based Transactions

The trends in TACH transactions clearly show that Tanzania is moving towards a digital payment ecosystem. Electronic Fund Transfers (EFT) are rising, while cheque transactions (both TZS and USD) are declining. This shift suggests:

• A more efficient banking system where businesses prefer instant fund transfers over cheques.
• A likely policy push towards financial digitization, reducing reliance on paper-based transactions.
• Stronger financial inclusion, as electronic transactions make payments faster, cheaper, and more accessible to a wider population.

TACH Transactions Trends (2020–2024)

The data from Electronic Fund Transfers (EFT), Tanzanian Shilling (TZS) cheque transactions, and United States Dollar (USD) cheque transactions highlight key shifts in Tanzania's financial landscape, indicating a preference for digital payments while traditional cheque usage declines.

1. Electronic Fund Transfers (EFT): Strong and Consistent Growth

Key Takeaways:

✅ Transaction volume grew by 44.7% from 14.57 million in 2020 to 21.08 million in 2024.
✅ Transaction value surged by 77% from TZS 9,479.10 billion to TZS 16,769.88 billion.
✅ The growth rate remained positive every year, with strong double-digit increases in 2023 and 2024.

What It Means:

• Increasing adoption of electronic payments by businesses and individuals.
• Higher transaction values signal economic expansion and greater financial activity.

2. TZS Cheque Transactions: Steady Decline

Key Takeaways:

❌ Cheque volume dropped by 36% from 651,829 in 2020 to 418,388 in 2024.
❌ Cheque value declined by 17%, from TZS 2,118.08 billion to TZS 1,758.04 billion.
❌ The decline accelerated over time, with 14% fewer cheques in 2024 compared to 2023.

What It Means:

• Businesses and individuals are reducing cheque usage, shifting to faster and more secure electronic payment methods.
• Financial sector modernization is accelerating, with paper-based payments becoming obsolete.

3. USD Cheque Transactions: Sharpest Decline

Key Takeaways:

❌ USD cheque volume declined by 44% from 113,643 in 2020 to 63,244 in 2024.
❌ USD cheque value dropped by 35.7%, from USD 238.22 million to USD 153.04 million.
❌ The biggest single-year decline happened in 2024, with a 28% drop in volume and 20% drop in value.

What It Means:

• International trade and corporate transactions are shifting towards electronic alternatives like wire transfers and SWIFT payments.
• Foreign currency cheque usage is declining even faster than local cheque transactions, suggesting increased adoption of digital banking solutions.

Final Thought: The Rise of Digital Transactions

The TACH transaction trends from 2020 to 2024 clearly show Tanzania’s transition towards a digital payment ecosystem:
✅ Electronic Fund Transfers (EFT) are rapidly increasing, showing confidence in digital banking.
❌ Cheque transactions (both TZS and USD) are steadily declining, highlighting the phasing out of paper-based payments.

Tanzania's merchant ecosystem has experienced remarkable growth, with the number of registered merchants rising from 33,037 in 2020 to over 1.3 million in 2024. This rapid expansion has driven a surge in transactions, increasing from 24 million in 2020 to over 329 million in 2024, with transaction values soaring from TZS 1.62 trillion to TZS 26.9 trillion over the same period. Dar es Salaam leads in merchant adoption, contributing significantly to the rise in digital payments, followed by Mwanza and Mbeya. These figures highlight the increasing role of merchants in Tanzania’s digital economy, reflecting broader economic growth and financial inclusion.

The data in Annex K: Merchant Statistics provides a detailed breakdown of merchant distribution, transaction volume, and transaction value across different regions of Tanzania for the years 2020 to 2024.

1. Merchant Distribution

• Merchant distribution by region: This table outlines the number of merchants by region for 2020–2024, showing growth in the number of merchants in each area. For instance:
  • Dar es Salaam stands out with significant growth, increasing from 13,164 merchants in 2020 to 394,863 merchants in 2024.
  • Mwanza also shows significant growth, from 1,587 merchants in 2020 to 117,530 merchants in 2024.
  • Arusha has the third-largest growth, increasing from 2,973 merchants in 2020 to 67,336 merchants in 2024.
• Institutional Category Breakdown:
  • Electronic Money Issuers (EMIs) dominate the merchant landscape, growing significantly over the years. They reached 1,189,384 merchants in 2024, compared to 12,103 in 2020.
  • Banks and Financial Institutions and Non-banks (Aggregators) make up the remainder, with the number of banks increasing modestly over the period, while non-banks (aggregators) show large growth, especially in 2024 (reaching 127,803 merchants).

2. Number of Merchant Transactions

• Transactions by region: This table provides transaction volume data per region for 2020–2024.
  • Dar es Salaam continues to lead in transaction volumes, increasing from 3.5 million transactions in 2020 to 122.8 million in 2024.
  • Mwanza follows closely, with a surge from 3.3 million transactions in 2020 to 32.3 million in 2024.
  • Mbeya also shows growth, reaching 26.99 million transactions in 2024 from 4.2 million in 2020.
• Institutional Categories:
  • Electronic Money Issuers continue to be the primary driver of transaction volume, with 286.7 million transactions recorded in 2024, up from 19.5 million in 2020.
  • Banks and Financial Institutions show steady growth, while Non-banks (Aggregators) display the largest increase, reflecting a shift in the market.

3. Merchant Transaction Value

• Transaction Value by Region: The total transaction values in Tanzanian Shillings (TZS) for each region.
  • Dar es Salaam remains the highest in transaction value, reaching 8.83 trillion TZS in 2024, up from 435 billion TZS in 2020.
  • Mwanza follows with 2.33 trillion TZS in 2024, a significant rise from 155.5 billion TZS in 2020.
  • Mbeya shows significant growth, moving from 199.2 billion TZS in 2020 to 1.81 trillion TZS in 2024.
• Institutional Categories:
  • Electronic Money Issuers (EMIs) lead in transaction value, with 16.16 trillion TZS in 2024.
  • Banks and Financial Institutions also have notable figures, jumping from 300.7 billion TZS in 2020 to 9.6 trillion TZS in 2024.
  • Non-banks (Aggregators) show an increase in transaction value, totaling 1.16 trillion TZS in 2024.

Summary Insights:

• The number of merchants and transaction volumes are growing at a fast pace, particularly in major cities like Dar es Salaam and Mwanza.
• The rise in the number of merchants is accompanied by a significant increase in transaction volume and value, with Electronic Money Issuers (EMIs) dominating the market.
• Non-banks (Aggregators) are playing a larger role in the market, especially in 2024, indicating a shift towards digital financial solutions beyond traditional banks.

Merchant Statistics

Table 1: Merchant Distribution by Region

Merchant Transactions by Region (Number of Transactions)

Merchant Transaction Value (TZS Billion)