PODCAST | MTN’s strategy to push up mobile money and reduce cash use in SA

MTN is wading further into banking territory with its mobile-money platform, part of an ongoing fight against physical cash. We explore the mobile operator’s strategy in this edition of the Business Day Spotlight. 

Host Mudiwa Gavaza is joined by Bradwin Roper, CEO of MTN SA’s financial services business.

MTN is looking to entice more users to its mobile-money platform by cutting out fees on the sale of digital goods such as airtime and electricity. 

Roper says South Africans, accustomed to paying fees every time they use a card or banking solution, are seeking alternatives to traditional financial services.

Join the discussion:

Mobile money has been a tough market for MTN and rival Vodacom over the last decade with both companies having shut down their initial ventures in the space.

Both are back with services that have traditionally been offered through banking platforms such as buying airtime or access to lending, what Roper refers to as a “sophisticated wallet”. 

Topics of discussion include: an exploration of MTN’s mobile money business in SA; the operator’s various attempts to succeed in the local market; disrupting traditional financial services; and the ongoing fight against physical cash by fintech players. 

Business Day Spotlight is a TimesLIVE Production.