Payment methods in Tanzania
94% of Tanzanians use mobile money, making it the backbone of the country's financial system.
Market takeaways
- 94% of Tanzanians use mobile money, making it the backbone of the country's financial system.
- M-Pesa, Tigo Pesa, Airtel Money, and Halotel Halopesa operate on a fully interoperable network.
- USSD dominates at ~77% of market transaction volume due to widespread feature phone usage.
- The number of merchants accepting digital payments more than doubled in 2024, from 657,346 to 1.33 million.
- Digital credit grew 32% and digital savings tripled in 2025.
Population
~65M
Online population
~25M
Banked population
~65% (incl. mobile money)
Mobile Money Penetration
~94% of adults
Credit card population
~2%
Payment method breakdown
- Mobile Money70%
- Cash25%
- Card3%
- Bank Transfer1%
- Other1%
Card scheme breakdown
- Visa60%
- Mastercard38%
- Local Schemes2%
- Other0%
Cross-border e-commerce
Market data coming soon.
Featured payment methods in Tanzania
Popular options based on coverage and prominence in this market.
Tanzania Instant Payment System (TIPS)
TIPS is Tanzania's national instant payment system designed to enable real-time, inclusive payments across banks and mobile money providers. It builds on Tanzania's existing interoperability foundation to create a unified national payment rail.
Tigo Pesa
Tigo Pesa is one of Tanzania's major mobile money platforms, offering P2P transfers, merchant payments, and loan services. It was an early pioneer of mobile money in Tanzania and contributes significantly to the interoperable ecosystem.
M-Pesa Tanzania
M-Pesa is Tanzania's largest mobile money platform, enabling P2P transfers, merchant payments, bill payments, international remittances, and financial services. It operates within the fully interoperable mobile money ecosystem alongside Tigo Pesa, Airtel Money, and Halotel Halopesa.
Airtel Money Tanzania
Airtel Money provides mobile financial services across Tanzania through USSD and app-based access, supporting P2P transfers, bill payments, merchant payments, and cross-border transfers.
All payment methods in Tanzania
Discover 4 payment methods from around the world
Featured banks in Tanzania
Major institutions operating in this market.
Firstrand (FNB / RMB / WesBank)
Johannesburg, South Africa
FirstRand is South Africa's second-largest banking group, comprising FNB (retail/SME), RMB (investment banking), and WesBank (vehicle finance).
Standard Bank South Africa
Johannesburg, South Africa
Standard Bank is Africa's largest bank by assets, offering retail, SME, corporate, investment, and private banking across 20 African countries.
Absa Group South Africa
Johannesburg, South Africa
Absa (formerly Barclays Africa) is South Africa's fourth-largest bank, offering retail, SME, corporate, and investment banking across Africa.
GTBank (Guaranty Trust Holding)
Lagos, Nigeria
GTBank (now GTCO Holdings) is one of Nigeria's leading banks, known for digital innovation and strong retail and corporate banking.
Access Bank Nigeria
Lagos, Nigeria
Access Bank is Nigeria's largest bank by customer base, following its merger with Diamond Bank, offering retail, SME, and corporate banking across Africa.
KCB Group Kenya
Nairobi, Kenya
KCB (Kenya Commercial Bank) Group is East Africa's largest bank by total assets, with operations in 7 East African countries.
