Mobile money has revolutionized finance across East Africa and the Horn. Platforms like Telebirr in Ethiopia, M-Pesa in Kenya, and EVC Plus in Somalia are now central to how millions of people store, send, and spend money. These services have brought banking-like functions to the hands of people who never had access to traditional banks — and for that, they deserve credit. But with that rise comes a responsibility that has largely gone unaddressed: transparency. Despite handling billions in digital value, these platforms provide little to no public accountability for how they manage users’ funds behind the scenes.
Let’s ask a simple but important question: when a user loads 1,000 units of currency into one of these wallets, where exactly does that money go? Is it stored securely in a regulated financial institution? Is it fully reserved and available for withdrawal at any time? Is there a system of checks in place to ensure that funds are not misused or over-leveraged? These are not theoretical concerns — they touch the heart of user trust. Yet today, there are no publicly accessible ledgers, no independently verified audits, and no standard reporting frameworks that offer clarity on how much digital money is in circulation or how it’s backed.
What’s more worrying is that these platforms have become so large and widely used that their financial operations now carry systemic importance. In countries where millions rely on digital wallets for daily survival — paying for food, transport, school fees, and even medical bills — a disruption or a breach of trust could be catastrophic. Yet the public has no way to verify the safety of the systems they’re depending on. The companies behind these platforms operate in a way that assumes public trust, while offering very little in return in terms of transparency.
Some might argue that making ledgers public is unnecessary or technically complex. But in reality, it’s already being done around the world. Many blockchain-based systems and emerging fintech platforms are demonstrating that open, auditable ledgers are not only possible — they are essential for long-term credibility. Importantly, publishing a ledger or audit report doesn’t mean exposing private customer data. It simply means providing aggregated, verifiable information about how much digital money exists, how it’s backed, and where reserves are held. It is a basic form of public accountability — one that should be expected when institutions handle large volumes of user funds.
This issue isn’t about attacking any particular company. In fact, platforms like M-Pesa, EVC Plus, and Telebirr have made extraordinary contributions to financial access. But innovation cannot replace transparency. If these platforms are to evolve into long-term pillars of their countries’ financial systems, they must hold themselves to a higher standard — one where the public is not only a customer, but a stakeholder with the right to know how their money is managed.
Across the region, digital wallets are becoming more than just tools — they are turning into invisible banks. They store real value, but operate with limited oversight and little visibility. That’s not sustainable. If East Africa is to build a future-proof digital economy, it must be based not only on speed and access, but also on accountability and public trust. The first step? Making financial ledgers public, or at the very least, subject to regular, independent, and published audits.
The digital money revolution isn’t slowing down — and it shouldn’t. But as we celebrate the ease and accessibility these wallets bring, we must also ask hard questions about how they operate. Because the future of finance shouldn’t be just digital — it must be transparent.
