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)