MTN customers could get direct loans as telco seeks banking licences
Africa's largest telecoms operator is exploring deposit-taking banking licences so it can lend from its own balance sheet, not just through partner banks.
MTN Group, Africa's largest telecoms operator, is exploring banking licences in select markets so it can lend to customers directly from its own balance sheet, according to Nairametrics reporting published on 25 August 2026. The move would mark a significant shift from MTN's current model, where partner banks supply the lending capital while MTN provides the distribution rails and customer data.
A shift from partnerships to owning the loan book
MTN currently offers short-term nano loans and device financing primarily through partnerships with banks, which provide the capital and underwriting, while MTN contributes access to its massive customer base and mobile money platform. The company is now weighing whether to obtain banking licences that would allow it to take deposits and fund loans itself, gradually shifting part of its lending book onto its own balance sheet.
The exploration is selective, not blanket. MTN Group CEO Ralph Mupita told Reuters that the company is looking at markets with large customer bases and significant floats in mobile money wallets to determine if a banking licence makes sense. Any move to balance-sheet lending would also be gradual because of the associated credit risk, Mupita emphasised.
The ambition is broader than just lending. MTN Group Fintech CEO Serigne Dioum has told investors the company wants to move "further up the lending value chain," according to TechLabari. That means seeking or upgrading licences in key markets, including Nigeria, to enable direct lending, international remittances and a wider payments offering. MTN has not publicly specified which exact banking licences it is pursuing in which countries, nor the regulatory timelines involved.
Why MTN is pushing deeper into banking
The scale of MTN's existing lending business explains the strategic logic. In its 2024 annual results, MTN disclosed that its BankTech unit facilitated total loan values of approximately US$1.7 billion — a 72% year-on-year increase — even while relying largely on partner banks' balance sheets rather than its own. African fintech analyst Ali Hussein Kassim notes in a commentary that markets are valuing MTN's pivot into direct banking-type activities at several billion dollars, reflecting investor expectations around fintech growth. Kassim also cites BankTech facilitating US$592 million in loans in Q1 2025 alone, though that figure has not been cross-verified in MTN filings.
In Nigeria, MTN already operates MoMo Payment Service Bank under Central Bank of Nigeria licensing, which allows deposits and certain payment services but constrains lending without further regulatory approvals. The new banking licence exploration suggests a possible expansion beyond those PSB permissions. The push also sits alongside heavy investment in digital infrastructure: Nairametrics separately reported that MTN and a UAE-backed partner plan to develop about 150MW of AI-optimised data centre capacity across Nigeria and South Africa through a venture called Africa Data Hub Holding.
What changes for customers and competitors
If MTN secures banking licences, the competitive stakes rise sharply. MTN would combine its telecom distribution, vast customer base and credit-scoring data with full deposit-taking and lending powers — putting it in direct competition with traditional banks, digital banks and local fintech lenders in markets like Nigeria, South Africa and Ghana. That could reshape the landscape for neobanks, agency banking networks and digital lenders, while also creating new partnership opportunities in technology, risk and agency networks.
"We're beginning to explore, where it makes sense and where there are large customer bases and significant floats in wallets, whether it may make sense to have some sort of banking licence that enables us to take deposits," Mupita said.
Mupita also stressed that moving to balance-sheet lending would not mean abandoning partners entirely. "In this way, over time, we can extend loans using our own balance sheet, but this does not mean we will stop working with partners for credit origination," he said, according to an Italian-language summary of Reuters' reporting. Dioum echoed the selective approach: "Where appropriate, we will seek licenses that allow us not only to facilitate loans but also to lend directly to customers and deploy our own balance sheet."
What to watch next
No regulatory approvals have been announced yet — reporting focuses on MTN exploring and considering licence applications rather than holding banking licences. The key signals to watch are formal licence applications or approvals in Nigeria, South Africa and Ghana, and whether MTN's 2025 financial disclosures show any shift in the proportion of loans funded from its own balance sheet versus partner banks. Other African telecoms operators such as Safaricom and Airtel Africa, which have built large mobile money and credit businesses through bank partnerships, will be watching closely — MTN's success or failure could accelerate a continent-wide convergence between telecom infrastructure, fintech platforms and regulated banking.
