Tanzania Payments

Tanzania is East Africa’s second-largest mobile money market after Kenya — and a structurally different story. Like Kenya, Tanzania is telco-led, with mobile money operators dominating consumer payments rather than banks. Unlike Kenya — where M-Pesa holds approximately 99% near-monopoly — Tanzania has a genuinely competitive multi-operator market: Vodacom M-Pesa holds 41.2%, Mixx (Tigo) 29.5%, Airtel Money 18.5%, and Halopesa 10%. Total 2025 transactions reached 6.3 billion (+68.7% from 3.7B in 2024), and active mobile money accounts grew from 35.28M in 2021 to 76.46M by December 2025 (+116%). The structural contrast: same Vodacom-operated M-Pesa product as Kenya (Vodacom is Vodafone’s African subsidiary, same parent as Safaricom Kenya) but with very different competitive dynamics because Tanzania had multiple telcos at scale when mobile money launched.

The other distinctive feature is TIPS (Tanzania Instant Payment System) — Bank of Tanzania’s interoperability rail launched in 2023, designed to connect banks and mobile money operators directly. Unlike Kenya’s split between M-Pesa (Safaricom-operated) and PesaLink (bank-led, IPSL-operated), Tanzania has a central-bank-operated layer (TIPS) that bridges the two ecosystems. For operators, this means cleaner cross-rail integration — funds can move between bank accounts and any of the four major mobile money wallets through standardised TIPS infrastructure.

Mobile money — the four-operator competitive market

Tanzania has four major mobile money operators plus smaller players, none with monopoly position:

Operator	Market Share	Avg txns/user	Parent telco
Vodacom M-Pesa	41.2%	8.1	Vodacom (Vodafone Group)
Mixx (Tigo Pesa)	29.5%	10.30 (highest)	Tigo Tanzania (Millicom)
Airtel Money	18.5%	8.42	Airtel Africa
Halopesa	10%	7.54	Halotel
TTCL/Tpesa	0.7%	—	TTCL (state-owned)
Azam Pesa	0.1%	—	Azam Group

The Mixx anomaly: While Mixx holds smaller market share than M-Pesa (29.5% vs 41.2%), it has the highest per-user transaction activity at 10.3 txns per subscription — versus M-Pesa’s 8.1. This indicates that Mixx users transact more frequently per account, possibly reflecting younger demographic skew or stronger merchant payment integration.

Volume growth:

• Q4 2025: 1.85 billion transactions
• Full 2025: 6.3 billion transactions (+68.7% from 2024)
• 2024: 3.7 billion transactions
• Accounts (Dec 2025): 76.46M active vs 35.28M in 2021 (+116%)

For operators: integration with multiple mobile money operators is mandatory for Tanzanian consumer-facing checkout — no single operator covers more than 41% of the market. The major local PSP Selcom offers unified API access to all major operators, simplifying multi-rail integration. Direct API integration with M-Pesa Tanzania, Mixx, and Airtel Money is also available for operators who want operator-direct relationships.

TIPS — the central bank interoperability layer

TIPS (Tanzania Instant Payment System) is Bank of Tanzania’s instant payment rail, launched in 2023. It is designed as an interoperability infrastructure connecting banks and mobile money operators — a structurally different approach from neighbouring markets:

• Kenya has M-Pesa (telco-operated) and PesaLink (bank-consortium-operated) coexisting via bilateral integration
• Ghana has GhIPSS (bank-led) and MoMo (telco-led) with limited cross-rail
• Tanzania has TIPS as a BoT-coordinated layer that bridges both

The TIPS architecture means a consumer can move money from a bank account directly to a Mixx wallet, or from M-Pesa to a CRDB Bank account, through standardised central-bank infrastructure rather than requiring bilateral operator-bank agreements.

For operators: TIPS integration via banks or licensed PSPs enables cross-rail flows that would require multiple individual integrations in markets without central-bank-coordinated interoperability. For payroll, marketplace seller payouts, and B2B flows that mix banked and mobile-money-only recipients, TIPS reduces operational complexity.

Cards — small share, growing slowly

Tanzanian card penetration sits at approximately 15% of adults — small relative to mobile money but growing. Visa and Mastercard handle most card transactions; there is no significant domestic card scheme. Major Tanzanian banks (NMB, CRDB, NBC) issue cards but consumer card use remains limited to higher-value purchases, international flows, and specific merchant categories.

MDR for Tanzanian card transactions runs 1.5-3.0% for credit and 0.8-2.0% for debit. Foreign-issued cards add cross-border scheme fees.

For most operators entering Tanzania, card acceptance is supplementary infrastructure rather than the primary checkout method — mobile money is the dominant rail by far.

Cross-border — M-Pesa connectivity

Vodacom Tanzania partnered with Thunes in 2024-2025 to roll out M-Pesa cross-border links to Uganda and China:

• Uganda link: Enables M-Pesa Tanzania users to send money directly to M-Pesa Uganda wallets — leveraging the Vodacom Group’s East African M-Pesa network (which also includes Kenya, DRC, Mozambique). This creates a meaningful intra-East-Africa mobile money corridor competing with traditional remittance products.
• China link: Enables smaller-ticket payments between Tanzania and China without going through SWIFT correspondent banking — significant for the substantial Chinese business presence in Tanzania (mining, infrastructure, trade).

The cross-border M-Pesa connectivity is part of Vodafone Group’s broader strategy to position M-Pesa as a continental remittance infrastructure. For operators with East African or Tanzania-China flows, M-Pesa cross-border is increasingly a viable alternative to SWIFT. See the M-Pesa interoperability briefing for the broader East African M-Pesa cross-border dynamics.

E-commerce — mobile money + COD

Tanzanian e-commerce remains small (~USD 1.5B in 2024) but growing rapidly. The payment mix:

• Mobile money (all operators): ~60-70% of digital e-commerce
• Cash on delivery: ~20-30% — still significant
• Cards (Visa/Mastercard): ~5-10% for higher-value purchases
• Bank transfer (via TIPS): smaller share for B2B

For operators entering Tanzanian e-commerce, the standard stack is: multi-operator mobile money acceptance via Selcom or direct API; COD support for relevant verticals; card acceptance via Selcom or international acquirer for higher-value transactions.

Crypto and digital assets

Tanzania has historically maintained a restrictive posture on cryptocurrency, with Bank of Tanzania issuing periodic advisories. As of 2026, there is no licensed crypto-asset service provider regime. Operators with crypto-on-ramp ambitions in Tanzania should treat the regulatory environment as restrictive.

Regulator and licensing — BoT + TCRA

Tanzanian payment regulation operates under two main authorities:

• Bank of Tanzania (BoT) — central bank. Regulates payment systems, operates TIPS, supervises Electronic Money Issuers (the category mobile money operators hold), and prudential regulation of banks and PSPs.
• Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA) — telecommunications regulator. Supervises telco-side aspects of mobile money including SIM registration and network operator licensing.

Licensing categories:

• Electronic Money Issuer (EMI) — for mobile money operators (M-Pesa, Mixx, Airtel Money, Halopesa hold this)
• Payment System Operator (PSO) — for entities operating payment infrastructure
• Payment Service Provider (PSP) — for gateways and acquirers
• Banking licence — for full banking services

Direct BoT licensing requires Tanzanian legal entity, capital requirements vary by tier, AML/CFT documentation. Application-to-licence timelines run 9-15 months. Foreign-owned entities can hold BoT licences subject to Tanzanian company registration.

Foreign-operator entry routes:

• Local PSP partnership: Selcom, MaxMalipo for full multi-operator coverage
• Direct mobile money integration: M-Pesa, Mixx, Airtel Money all offer merchant APIs
• Pan-African acquirer: Flutterwave, Cellulant have Tanzania capabilities
• Direct BoT licensing: feasible for committed enterprise operations

PSP coverage

Tanzania’s PSP market is shaped around mobile money integration:

• Selcom (Tanzanian, largest local payment switching and processing company): Multi-operator coverage including all four major mobile money operators (M-Pesa, Mixx, Airtel Money, Halopesa) plus card and bank rails. Default for Tanzanian e-commerce merchants.
• MaxMalipo (Tanzanian): SME-focused payment gateway with broad coverage.
• Vodacom M-Pesa Tanzania (direct merchant API): Free integration for M-Pesa-specific merchant acceptance.
• Mixx merchant API (Tigo): Direct integration for Mixx-only flows.
• Airtel Money merchant API: Direct integration for Airtel Money acceptance.
• Flutterwave (Nigerian-founded, Pan-African): Operates in Tanzania as part of broader African coverage.
• Cellulant (Pan-African, Nairobi-headquartered): Cross-border + Tanzanian local capabilities.
• Stripe / Adyen: Limited direct Tanzanian acquiring; better suited for cross-border SaaS billing.

For operators choosing acquirers in Tanzania: the standard route is Selcom for unified multi-operator mobile money + card + bank rail coverage; the SME route is MaxMalipo; for pan-African expansion, Flutterwave or Cellulant. For operators with specific mobile money dominance use cases (e.g., M-Pesa-heavy merchant), direct operator API integration is viable without an intermediary PSP.

For broader East African regional context, Kenya covers the canonical M-Pesa heartland (telco-led near-monopoly), Nigeria covers West Africa’s bank-led model, South Africa covers the bank-led + high-banking-penetration pattern that made M-Pesa fail, Egypt covers North Africa’s bank-affiliated MFS model, Morocco covers the Mediterranean bank-consortium model, and Ghana covers the West African telco-led pattern. Tanzania sits structurally between Kenya (telco-led, monopoly) and Ghana (telco-led, competitive) — telco-led like both, but with the most competitive four-operator market among major African mobile money economies.