Payment Institutions in 2024: A Review of Transactions and Financial Performance
In 2024, payment institutions carried out approximately 4.2 million transactions, totaling around 1,632 million dinars (MD), compared to 1 million transactions and 495 MD in 2023, according to the 14th edition of the annual report on banking supervision, published on Saturday by the Central Bank of Tunisia (BCT).
Breakdown of Transactions
In terms of numbers, 65.2% of transactions concerned payment operations (payment of micro-credit installments, phone recharges, and bill settlements), 32.4% involved fund transfers (receiving funds from abroad and national transfers), and 2.4% involved cash-in and cash-out operations.
Transaction Values
In terms of value, 57.6% of transactions were fund transfers, 31.3% were payments (mainly micro-credit repayments), and 11% were cash-in and cash-out operations.
Financial Performance
The consolidated net income of active payment institutions stood at 9.7 MD in 2024, recording a increase of approximately 8.4 MD compared to 2023, according to the BCT. However, this level remains insufficient to cover the significant operating expenses, which explains the losses of these institutions, which reached 17.3 MD in 2024, compared to 12.4 MD in 2023. At the end of the year, active payment institutions had total assets of 94.3 MD.
Service Network and Customer Base
These institutions offer their services through a network comprising 51 proprietary agencies and 3,463 mandated agents, mainly located in the Greater Tunis area (28.6%), followed by the governorates of Sfax (7.4%) and Sousse (7%). The total number of payment accounts opened with these institutions stood at 78,930 at the end of 2024, with only 30% being active.
