325,000 new mobile money accounts were registered in the last quarter of 2020, bringing the total to 28 million, up from 27.7 million accounts at the end of September 2020, the latest communications market performance report shows.
While the number of mobile money users is growing, the report says there was a decline in registered accounts compared to the previous quarter (July to September 2020) where 1.8 million new mobile money accounts were registered.
The latest figure, according to the report which was published by UCC, translates into a national mobile money penetration of 66 accounts per 100 persons in Uganda.
More importantly, the number of mobile money transactions during the quarter crossed the 1 billion transactions mark for the first time ever, surpassing the previous quarterly record of 954 million transactions posted in the months July to September 2020.
Additionally, the report says, Uganda now records an average of 15 transactions per active mobile money account every month, including agent-assisted deposits, mobile money bank transfers, mobile betting, and merchant payments, among other transaction categories.
On the side of internet, the telecom sector saw a growth of more than 1.2 million new internet connections, with mobile internet users accounting for more than 98% of new internet connections.
By the end of December 2020, the number of active internet subscriptions had grown to 21.4 million, translating into an internet access reach of more than one active connection for every two Ugandans.
This growth in use of mobile financial services and internet saw the telecommunication sector record total revenue of Shs3.5 trillion in 2020.
