The number of Mobile Money registered accounts grew by 13 percent globally in 2020 to more than 1.2 billion – double the forecast.

The fastest growth was in markets where governments provided significant pandemic relief to their citizens, GSMA report said.

This year’s report found that across markets women are still 33 percent less likely than men to have a mobile money account, said John Giusti, chief regulatory officer of GSMA.

For the first time, more than $1 billion was sent and received in the form of remittances globally every month via mobile money. The total value of mobile money transactions increased 65 percent to $12.7 billion in 2020.

Mobile Money providers depend mainly on transactional revenues to sustain their business. Regulators are strongly encouraged to work closely with the industry to ensure sustainability going forward, the telecom industry body said.