A Strategy Analytics study found mobile money service users worldwide will pass the one billion milestone before the end of 2016.

The figure is equivalent to 20 per cent of the total number of unique mobile users, said the research firm.

The study forecasts mobile money transactions to nearly triple from US$200 billion in value in 2016 to US$571 billion by the end of 2022. The largest regional market in 2022 will be the Middle East and Africa, accounting for over $200 billion in transaction volume.

Strategy Analytics’ study covers mobile money services for the unbanked in emerging markets, as well as services targeted at banked customers in developed regions.

Nitesh Patel, director, mobile payments service, noted a number of significant trends driving adoption: “The mobile money sector continues to be driven by demand for access to basic financial services in emerging markets, the increasing maturity of established mobile money services, such as M-PESA in East Africa, MTN Money, and Easypaisa, and the rising integration of payments in social platforms, in particular WeChat, BBM Money, and Facebook Messenger.”