The future of Mobile Money Agents.

Mobile money agents have been instrumental in bringing financial services to unbanked and underbanked populations in developing countries. In countries like Tanzania, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, India, and Nigeria, mobile money agents have powered the mobile money revolution.

Initially, agents were mainly responsible for cash-in and cash-out transactions. However, there are signs that the role of mobile money agents is changing. They are now offering more support, service, and sales for various service providers.

In the future agents will do more and probably be aggregated by few operators who will run the markets as platforms where others can operate. Think of agents as a service platform operators who will emerge and be stronger than the users of the network and "rulers" of the agents.

Below are what I think will become of the agents, This is purely based on observations and market trends that we see today, This is not advise but rather directional opinions.

1. Agents will do more and become interoperable: Either pushed by the regulator or market demand, whatever comes first, Mobile money agents will offer a wider range of financial & digital services beyond basic transactions, such as microloans, insurance, savings, e-commerce, mapping, delivery, sales activation, field campaigns and investment products offers by different principals . This diversification will enhance their value proposition and contribute to the overall fees.
2. Agents will earn more: Agents will increasingly adopt digital tools and platforms, making their operations more efficient and seamless. Integration with other financial service providers and systems will enable interoperability and enhance the customer experience all that culminates into them earning more fees and commissions. There will be small agents operators who have two to ten shops since the operators like to have a bigger network , think of Cocacola Network of larger bottlers or Amazon Fulfilment kind of economies of scale.
3. Agents will, dominantly, be operated by giants: I believe agents networks will be largely operated by tech giants, As the industry continues to grow and expand, it is becoming increasingly likely that the role of mobile money agents will be dominated by larger corporations. These "giants," are able to offer greater resources and support to mobile money agents, allowing them to offer more specialized services and training. This shift is driven by the need for greater efficiency and effectiveness in the industry. With the increasing complexity of mobile money and digital services, it is becoming more difficult for smaller agents operators to keep up with the demands of the market. By being under a larger corporations, agents are able to access the resources and support needed to stay competitive and offer high-quality services to their customers. These giants will likely operate a platform more like Android with Google. Look at the early signs and signals led by SANEF in Nigeria, MoniePoint as well as TANDA in Kenya.
4. Agents will be offered as a service to fintechs, telcos, banks and others: By partnering with established agent networks service operators, fintechs and telcos can quickly scale their financial services, reaching a larger customer base in a shorter time frame. They can tap into the expertise and experience of these agents operators, who are already familiar with operations, facilitating smoother service implementation. Outsourcing agent services also enables fintechs to focus on their core competencies, such as product development and customer acquisition, while leaving the agent management and operations to specialized service providers. Agents as a service provides cost efficiency, scalability, speed to market, expertise, and allows fintechs, telcos, and other providers to concentrate on their core competencies. Look at Selcom in Tanzania serving a number of banks, telcos even Mastercard, as well as SABS in Uganda as a testimony toward this direction.
5. Most agents will be out of Business by 2050. While the role of mobile money agents is continuing to evolve and become more specialised, it is likely that larger corporations will dominate the industry in the future. This shift presents both challenges and opportunities for mobile money agents especially small independent agents, Similar to how small operators are crushed by Amazon, I think most of agents will be out of business. Another reason that will drive most small agents out of business in the near future is dwindling in their incomes as most of them have multiple income lines with mobile money being "not the main one".

As the mobile money industry and digital services arena continues to expand, it is likely that the role of agents will continue to evolve. They may become more specialized in certain services but mainly operated by a few platforms giants, and their training may become more formalized. However, it is clear that they will continue to play a critical role in bringing financial services to underserved populations and driving the growth of the digital economy in developing countries.