Jordan has seen an increase in mobile wallets usage, as the government urged workers to open mobile wallets and telcos surged their applications for remote payments.
According to Verdict UK, Mobile Financial Services (MFS) in Jordan have witnessed growth with the number of mobile wallets reaching 760,000 wallets in April 2020. This represents around 10% of the total mobile subscription base, with a total transaction value of USD 88.1 million up from USD 26.7 million in December 2019. It also represents a 230% increase in transaction value in April 2020 versus December 2019, and a 25% increase in the number of wallets over the same period.
There are multiple reasons behind the boost in the uptake and transaction values of mobile wallets, one of them being the government’s decision to support the daily workers whose jobs were affected in this pandemic by a weekly fund. Therefore, the Government urged those workers to open mobile wallets to receive their funds. This initial phase of the workers’ fund started in April 2020 and is expected to last until the end of June 2020.
Another cause for the boost of mobile wallets is the provision of mobile wallets applications made by telcos, in order to enable their customers to make transactions such as top-ups and payments remotely. Jordan is a prepaid mobile market with circa 80% of the customers on prepaid plans, the top-up transaction being vital to keep people connected.
Overall, telecom operators have an important part in Jordan’s mobile wallet development. For example, telco Orange is present in this space with the Orange Money wallet, Zain with the Zain Cash wallet, and Umniah provides the Mahfazti wallet. Additionally, financial institutions also play a key role in the ecosystem with solutions including Dinark, National Wallet, Gadhaa, and other banks, Verdict UK stated.
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