Payment methods in Malawi

Africa

3methods

4banks

Mobile money account penetration is 46%, well above the 25% formal banking rate.

Market takeaways

Mobile money account penetration is 46%, well above the 25% formal banking rate.
USSD is the primary access technology for mobile money, reflecting low smartphone penetration.
The National Financial Inclusion Strategy 2024–2028 targets 95% formal financial access by 2028.
The digital payments market is projected at US$3.52 billion in 2024, growing at 18.20% annually through 2028.
Airtel Money and TNM Mpamba are the two dominant mobile money providers.

Population

~21M

Online population

~6M

Banked population

~25%

Mobile Money Penetration

~46% of adults

Credit card population

~2%

Payment method breakdown

Cash50%
Mobile Money42%
Bank Transfer5%
Card2%
Other1%

Card scheme breakdown

Visa55%
Mastercard40%
Local Schemes5%
Other0%

Cross-border e-commerce

Market data coming soon.

Featured payment methods in Malawi

Popular options based on coverage and prominence in this market.

TNM Mpamba

TNM Mpamba is the mobile money service of TNM, Malawi's second telecom operator. It provides mobile financial services including P2P transfers, bill payments, and merchant transactions. Interoperable with Airtel Money via the National Switch.

Airtel Money Malawi

Airtel Money is one of Malawi's two dominant mobile money services, enabling P2P transfers, bill payments, merchant payments, and airtime top-up. Accessible via USSD (*118#) for feature phone users, which is critical given Malawi's low smartphone penetration.

National Switch (Malswitch)

Malswitch is Malawi's national payment switch enabling interoperability between banks, ATMs, and POS terminals. It supports card-based transactions and is being expanded to enable interoperability with mobile money services.