Mobile money continues to consolidate its place at the heart of Uganda’s digital economy in Q3 2025, with key usage indicators, according to the Uganda Communications Commission’s (UCC) Q3 2025 Market Performance Report, showing modest subscriber gains and a sharper rise in transactions even as the overall telecommunications sector recorded a notable fall in gross revenue.
According to the regulator’s figures, registered mobile-money subscriptions rose to 52.9 million from 51.1 million in Q2, a quarterly increase of 1.8 million users, or roughly 3.5%. Active mobile-money subscription accounts used within the report’s activity window increased to 35.6 million from 34.6 million in Q2. Mobile money transactions, on the other hand, increased to 2.3 billion in Q3 from 2.18 billion in Q2, a rise of roughly 5.5%, underscoring growing consumer reliance on digital payments.
Yet the broader telecom market registered headwinds. Gross telecom revenue for Q3 fell to UGX 1.62 trillion, down from UGX 1.78 trillion in Q2, a decline of UGX 0.16 trillion or nearly 9% quarter-on-quarter. The apparent decoupling of rising mobile-money activity alongside shrinking overall telecom revenue highlights shifting revenue mixes for operators and the pressure on traditional income sources such as voice and data.
Mobile money adoption continues to deepen as consumers and merchants embrace digital payments for everyday commerce, bill payments, and person-to-person transfers, driving transaction counts even as the number of new registered wallets grows more slowly. At the same time, competitive price pressures, promotions, and changes in interconnection or regulatory costs can compress telecom operators’ top lines even if traffic volumes remain robust. The UCC report highlights traffic growth in areas such as USSD sessions and data downloads alongside the mobile-money surge.
UCC’s dataset does not explicitly pin the revenue decline to a single cause, but the juxtaposition of stronger mobile-money metrics with lower sector revenue suggests telcos may be seeing transactional growth without a commensurate lift in average revenue per user. The report’s breakdown invites closer scrutiny of how operators monetise mobile-money activity —for instance, through merchant payments, savings and credit products, or cross-selling financial services if they are to offset declines elsewhere.
The rise in active mobile-money subscriptions and transaction counts is significant. Greater uptake can improve financial inclusion, speed up remittances and domestic commerce, and reduce reliance on cash trends that policymakers have long encouraged. Conversely, the dip in gross telecom revenue could sharpen scrutiny on market structure, pricing practices, and investment incentives for network expansion, particularly as UCC continues initiatives aimed at digital inclusion and improved connectivity.
See also: Uganda’s digital footprint grows modestly in Q3 2025 as smartphone use surges
