MoMo bets on open API to grow usage of digital wallets in Nigeria

MoMo, the payment service bank owned by MTN has released an open Application Programming Interface (API) aimed at increasing digital wallets on the platform. The PSB expects companies using the open API to integrate it as a payment or collections option.

As other mobile money operators like Moniepoint, Opay, and Palmpay expand their agency network, MoMo is convinced that the industry’s future is in wallets despite digital wallet users accounting for only 8% of the total mobile money population.

MoMo has over 40 million wallet users in Nigeria, less than 25% of the total wallets (200 million) the company has in Africa. MoMo believes that plugging into the merchant space using an open API and a super app will grow that number in Africa’s most populous country. The merchants that use the MoMo open API will need to create a MoMo wallet to be able to receive from their customers.

MoMo’s open API became available in 2023 and has been able to onboard over 20 businesses. However, the company said it needed to add more services like cash disbursement, payments, etc. to attract more companies to the platform. Some of the companies already using the open API include Vasnets, Wakanow, Travelstart, and Huawei.

With an open API, MoMo not only expands its business offerings, it becomes a platform that removes the cost of building separate APIs for companies and allows them to interact with other vendors and clients in one large community. MoMo’s open API will be free but merchants and their customers will need to create a wallet known as MoMo Accounts to complete transactions.

“Digital wallets have already taken over in most countries and also there’s a lot that can be done with wallets in place of cards and cash,” Elsa Muzzolini, chief commercial officer of MoMo, told TechCabal.

The mini-app feature is a marketplace solution that enables companies already using the open API to build sub-apps on the MoMo super-app, ensuring an end-to-end transaction experience. With the sub-apps, companies can have access to a network of over 30 million users including businesses in 13 countries.