While the method of payment via the mobile phone was experiencing a gradual development on the African continent, the health crisis is revealing new users.

Technology is one of the areas that will benefit from the coronavirus crisis. This is the case with the mobile wallet (all transactions accessible through a mobile phone or tablet) which attracts more and more new users on the African continent.

Dakar, Senegal. Usually, Penda Kande pays for her taxi in cash, but since the coronavirus hit Senegal in early March 2020, the 30-year-old nurse has switched to mobile money to avoid contamination.  it's better to use Orange Money," she told Reuters, referring to the West African country's most popular mobile money service, offered by the French telecommunications group. One of the company's representatives on site also welcomed a clear increase in subscriptions.

Digital payment encouraged at all levels

Mobile money providers across Africa were quick to grasp the possible scale of the phenomenon in the face of the Covid-19 health crisis, and decided to  encourage it by reducing or eliminating transaction fees. In their messages recommending "barrier" gestures, governments are also encouraging digital payments to reduce person-to-person contact, and try to slow the transmission and spread of the virus.

A commitment to use mobile money, long recognized as a way for people excluded from the formal financial system – including women, youth and the rural poor – to access services such as savings and loans, start a business and receive transfers.

In West Africa, where, despite significant development, mobile money is still only used by about one in four adults, industry experts and analysts believe the outbreak could be an opportunity to increase its use and include more people in the digital economy."  I think there is currently some kind of trigger that could be seized to change the game," said Jill Shemin, an independent consultant on digital finance in the region.

Overcoming the economic impact of the epidemic

So far several obstacles such as the low level of literacy, the lack of confidence in digital technology and a clear preference for the sounding and stumbling currency, have prevented digital payment from making a splash in West Africa,  according to the GSMA telecommunications industry group which represents the interests of hundreds of operators worldwide.

In East African countries, on the other hand, such as Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and even Ethiopia, for several years now, mobile banking has been used as payment for everything from daily purchases to bill settlement , thanks in large part to the success of Safaricom's M-Pesa service.

At a time when the coronavirus is pushing people to go digital, operators are facilitating the process, sometimes perceived as obstacles, such as providing an IDENTITY document or proof of address.   could open a mobile wallet and transfer up to 1000 cedis ($170 ) per day without providing additional documents.

Financial inclusion that remains to be generalized

Easily acquiring a mobile bank account is also a way to overcome the economic impact of the epidemic, notes Alfred Hannig, executive director of the Alliance for Financial Inclusion, a global network of policymakers.  many West African governments are working to digitize social payments such as pensions and health coverage. A process that the coronavirus crisis should accelerate. 

But, while, in the midst of the pandemic, mobile payment represents a security solution when exchanging money, the lack of financial inclusion remains for the moment in some parts of Africa a major barrier, according to the Center for Global Development think tank in a report released in early April 2020.