Africa’s top 10 countries by population leading in cashless transactions

With rapid advancements in financial technology and increasing smartphone penetration, African nations are gradually moving away from traditional cash-based systems, which have long posed challenges to economic growth and financial inclusion.

According to GSMA, Sub-Saharan Africa accounted for 48% of the global mobile money accounts (835 million) in 2024. In Sub-Saharan Africa, East Africa accounted for 50 million accounts, West Africa – 66 million, Central Africa – 14 million and South Africa – 4 million.

This shows a healthy digital payment adoption across the continent. However, the World Bank notes that about 90% of retail transactions in sub-Saharan Africa are cash-based, while just 34% of adults have traditional bank accounts.

The bulk of the transactions in Africa occur in cash as most countries on the continent rely significantly on cash, which is frequently used also in informal economies.

This shows a lot still needs to be done to speed up the digital payment adoption across the continent.

Switching to cashless systems will improve economic efficiency as handling cash has proven to be expensive, time-consuming, and prone to errors. Transitioning to digital payments reduces transaction costs, speeds up processes, and enhances transparency.

The following table, according to Statista highlights the top 10 African countries with the highest percentage of their population engaging in digital payments as of 2024;