Tanzania's Mobile Money Hits 75M Subscriptions, Next Phase Tests Integration

Tanzania has passed the milestone of making mobile money ubiquitous. The central bank reported 75.8 million active mobile-money subscriptions at the end of 2025, a figure that exceeds the adult population because many users hold accounts with multiple providers. The next challenge is not access but depth: turning those wallets into tools for savings, credit and insurance.

The shift is visible in the Tanzania Instant Payment System, or TIPS, a real-time settlement platform developed by the Bank of Tanzania. Unlike many countries that buy such systems from overseas vendors, TIPS was built by Tanzanian engineers. It connects banks and non-bank financial providers through common infrastructure, allowing money to move instantly between networks rather than remaining inside separate silos.

TIPS addresses a fragmentation problem that grows as mobile-money adoption scales. A market with dozens of banks and wallet providers can still leave customers facing higher costs or extra steps when transferring across networks. The central bank's platform eliminates that friction for participating institutions.

The 2023 FinScope survey found that 89% of adults could access formal financial services, and 76% actively used them, up from 65% in 2017. But usage patterns remain narrow. Most customers use digital accounts to send or withdraw money, not to save, insure or borrow productively. The National Financial Inclusion Framework 2023–2028 targets underserved women, young people, rural communities and small businesses, alongside consumer protection and financial education.