Ericsson Aims to Capture Half of African Mobile Wallet Market

5G network maker Ericsson reportedly has big plans for Africa’s mobile wallet market.

The Swedish company’s software helps power more than 400 mobile wallet accounts around the world, and Michael Wallis-Brown, head of Ericsson’s mobile financial services unit, told Bloomberg News Tuesday (Jan. 9) that Africa is a crucial market in helping expand that reach.

“We’re touching 10% of the market in Africa today, and we can get to 50%,” Wallis-Brown said in an interview. “That’s enormous growth for us.”

Ericsson has an “aggressive expansion plan” for the business while looking to extend its reach into new markets, including Europe and the U.S., he said. 

According to Bloomberg, the company’s platform lets users — including several who don’t have a bank account — receive basic financial services, as well as more advanced options such as merchant and eCommerce payments, micro-lending and insurance.

Wallis-Brown’s comments came the same day that Ericsson extended its 10-year partnership with Africa’s largest mobile operator, MTN Group Ltd.

A shift to public cloud deployments means “they are now able to literally scale exponentially,” Wallis-Brown said.

The company’s efforts follow a year in which mobile wallets gained immense popularity among consumers, both for making in-store purchases and because of their ability to manage finances and store sensitive personal information.

A recent PYMNTS/ACI Worldwide survey found that mobile wallets are now the preferred method for paying bills, ahead of QR codes and NFC tap-to-pay options. This trend is especially pronounced among millennials, with a notable 68% saying they had used mobile wallets for bill payments in the past year.

“On average, consumers have utilized their mobile wallets to pay at least three to four bills in the past year,” PYMNTS wrote last week. “The most frequently paid bills via mobile wallets include mobile phone bills, credit card bills, home internet bills and utility bills.” 

Nearly 44% and 35% of consumers used a mobile wallet to pay their phone and home internet bills, respectively. In addition, 33% chose to use a digital wallet to cover their utility bills, while 31% did so for subscription payments. And more than 20% of consumers turn to digital wallets to repay their auto loans.