Approximately 60% of Sierra Leone’s population lives below the national poverty line, while about 13% live in extreme poverty. Limited access to formal banking has long reinforced economic exclusion. Today, digital banking in Sierra Leone is emerging as a practical solution to bridge that gap by connecting citizens to financial services through mobile phones rather than traditional bank branches.

Financial Exclusion and Structural Barriers

Financial exclusion remains closely tied to poverty. Data from the 2023 Multidimensional Poverty in Sierra Leone report shows that 81.6% of the population lives in a household without a bank account. Additionally, 55.2% of the population is both multidimensionally poor and lives in a household without a bank account.

One major barrier is identification. Although 6.4 million people have a National ID number, fewer than 500,000 physical ID cards have been issued as of 2024 due to cost constraints in its first year. However, on July 31, 2024, Sky Bank partnered with Orange Money to launch “Bank2wallet” services, enabling seamless transfers between bank accounts and mobile wallets.

How Digital Banking in Sierra Leone Works

The Bank of Sierra Leone and the U.N. Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) are promoting digital financial services in the country by jointly producing the State of the Digital Financial Services Market report. The report tracks adoption trends, transaction patterns and barriers to inclusion to inform policy and market strategy. Their collaboration helps shape regulatory priorities and supports efforts to expand mobile money, agent networks and inclusive digital channels. This enables more people, especially women and underserved groups, to participate in the formal financial system.

Mobile money and USSD technology let users with basic feature phones access financial services without internet connectivity. By dialing short codes, users can check balances, transfer funds and pay bills. The system works through “push and pull” integration, allowing transfers between bank accounts and mobile money wallets such as Orange Money and Afrimoney.

Telecom providers Orange Money and Africell (Afrimoney) are the country’s main mobile money operators, while commercial banks have expanded their digital channels. Sierra Leone Commercial Bank offers the “Mi Yone” suite, which integrates with mobile wallets. Sky Bank provides mobile and online banking and enables transfers to Orange Money and Afrimoney via USSD.

Impact on Households and Small Businesses

Digital systems are increasingly used to deliver government support. In a recent emergency program, 35,000 households received cash transfers directly on their mobile phones. Linking digital IDs to mobile money is helping farmers access credit and markets and the instant payments switch is expected to make it easier for citizens to get loans and start businesses.

Broader economic initiatives have supported women and entrepreneurs. Action on Poverty helped 3,500 women and girls start small businesses and boosted incomes for 6,000 people by at least 50% by the end of 2019. The African Development Bank also partnered with Access Bank to fund small and medium-sized enterprises in Sierra Leone.

With several households lacking traditional bank accounts, digital banking in Sierra Leone offers a scalable alternative that avoids costly physical infrastructure and documentation barriers. By leveraging mobile money and USSD technology, these services expand access to basic financial tools.

Final Remarks

Recent years have seen rapid growth in digital banking in Sierra Leone. In 2023–2024, Metro Cable launched Vult, a digital banking platform designed to unify bank accounts, mobile money and payment services. The app onboarded more than 475,000 users into interoperable payment systems, making financial services more accessible to rural and low-income populations.

As partnerships among the government, the World Bank, UNCDF, telecom providers and commercial banks continue to expand, digital banking in Sierra Leone is gaining momentum. Indeed, it is becoming a measurable, technology-driven push to reduce financial exclusion and strengthen economic resilience.

– Aila Alsakka

Aila is based in Nottingham, UK and focuses on Technology and Solutions for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Unsplash