Tanzania’s real-time digital payment transactions more than doubled in value in 2024, with the country’s national switch processing a total of TSh29.9 trillion ($11.6 billion) in transactions by December. This is a significant increase from TSh12.5 trillion ($4.9 billion) in 2023, according to the Bank of Tanzania’s (BoT) latest financial stability report.

The Tanzania Instant Payment System (TIPS), which was launched in 2020, enables customers to instantly transfer money between banks, mobile money wallets, and other licensed financial institutions. This system has been crucial in addressing fragmentation in Tanzania’s payments landscape. In 2024, TIPS processed 454 million transactions, nearly doubling the 236 million recorded in 2023, as the number of participating institutions increased to 46.

BoT highlighted that the system has become a vital component of Tanzania’s digital financial infrastructure, promoting instant payments and enhancing financial inclusion, particularly for underserved communities.

Tanzania’s approach to digital payments differs from Kenya’s market-driven model, where Safaricom’s M-Pesa dominates the mobile money space. Tanzania has chosen a more centralised model, with interoperability being the cornerstone of its digital payments strategy. TIPS is a centralised clearing system supported by the central bank.

Despite Tanzania’s growth, Kenya’s mobile money market remains significantly larger. In 2024, Kenya’s mobile money transactions reached KES 8.7 trillion ($67.3 billion), which accounts for more than half of the country’s GDP.

In addition, Tanzania has upgraded its Financial Services Registry (FSR) by incorporating geospatial mapping tools to monitor the reach of financial services and address the persistent access gaps in rural areas.

As of December 2024, Tanzania had more than 52,000 financial access points, including mobile money agents, bank branches, and ATMs. However, access remains uneven across the country. In some rural districts, the number of access points is below the national average of 4.8 per 10,000 adults, while urban areas such as Dar es Salaam have a ratio that exceeds 15 per 10,000. The Bank of Tanzania is relying on the GIS-enabled registry to visualise these gaps and target underserved areas for further investment and expansion.

In comparison, Kenya, with much higher mobile money penetration, reported over 320,000 mobile money agents nationwide in 2024. The average number of access points per 10,000 adults in Kenya stood at 11, according to data from the Central Bank of Kenya.

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