MTN Nigeria’s mobile money subsidiary, MoMo Payment Service Bank (MoMo PSB), recorded a 102.2 per cent increase in revenue in the nine months ended September 30, 2026, supported by a sharp rise in customer wallet balances and growing transaction activity.
Customer wallet balances climbed more than fourfold to ₦43.8 billion from their level at the end of December 2025, boosting income from funds held on the platform.
The performance came as MoMo PSB migrated to the Alipay+ platform in August, a move MTN Nigeria said would provide a more reliable, secure and feature-rich foundation for expanding its digital financial services business.
Monthly active users on the platform reached 3.2 million at the end of September, up 11.6 per cent from 2.9 million in September 2025. Transaction volumes also rose 69.1 per cent in the third quarter compared with the preceding three months.
MTN Nigeria attributed the strong growth in core mobile money revenue largely to higher float income generated by the increase in customer wallet balances.
The company, however, noted that the latest active-user figure reflects customers on the new platform only. The migration of users from legacy wallets was still ongoing, alongside the onboarding of new customers.
Despite the strong performance of MoMo PSB, MTN Nigeria’s overall fintech business recorded a weaker result, with revenue declining by 25.9 per cent to ₦97.5 billion in the first nine months of 2026, compared with ₦131.6 billion in the corresponding period of 2025.
The decline was largely linked to the temporary suspension of the company’s airtime and data credit service between April and June 2026.
The service resumed in the third quarter under a multi-partner model, helping to restore revenue momentum. Revenue from the service increased by 78.5 per cent in the third quarter compared with the second quarter.
However, the recovery was not enough to offset the losses recorded during the suspension. The broader fintech segment generated ₦20.3 billion in revenue in the July-to-September quarter, significantly below the ₦48.4 billion recorded in the corresponding period of 2025.
The contrasting performances highlight the distinction between MoMo PSB’s expanding mobile money operations and the wider fintech business, which remains affected by disruptions to its airtime and data credit offering.
The migration to Alipay+ represents a significant step in MTN Nigeria’s efforts to strengthen its mobile financial services business.
The company described the new platform as more reliable, secure and feature-rich, with the capacity to support a broader range of digital financial services.
The early figures suggest improving customer activity. The 69.1 per cent quarterly increase in transaction volumes points to stronger engagement, while the growth in monthly active users indicates an expanding customer base.
However, the migration is still in progress, and the company will need to demonstrate that the platform can sustain customer growth, improve transaction activity and translate higher wallet balances into durable revenue.
Meanwhile, shares of MTN Nigeria Communications Plc gained 3.03 per cent on the Nigerian Exchange on Friday, October 30, closing at ₦850, compared with the previous closing price of ₦825.
The stock opened at ₦825 and traded between ₦844 and ₦850 during the session. About 1.22 million shares changed hands in transactions valued at approximately ₦1.01 billion.
Despite the gain, the shares remained below their 52-week high of ₦915. The 52-week low stood at ₦429.30.
For MTN Nigeria, the latest results point to growing momentum in mobile money, with higher wallet balances and transaction volumes supporting MoMo PSB’s revenue expansion. The challenge now is to convert that growth into a stronger and more consistent contribution from the wider fintech business.
