How do people in The Gambia pay online?
Mobile money changed the market in six years. The FinScope Consumer The Gambia 2025 survey, as reported by Financial Afrik, puts formal financial inclusion at 82% of adults in 2025, up from 19% in 2019. Financial exclusion fell from 69% to 14%, and use of formal non-bank services, mainly mobile money, rose from 14% to 81%.
Wave is the newest and fastest growing wallet. Wave Gambia obtained its licence in November 2021 and started operations in September 2022, according to The Point, with more than 1,000 outlets and a 1% send fee against the 5% others charged at the time. In July 2026 Wave Burkina’s general manager said Wave leads mobile money in The Gambia and is the most downloaded app there. Authorities recognised Wave among the main contributors to the FinScope gains.
Two telecom wallets sit alongside it. The Central Bank of The Gambia lists Afrimobile Money (Africell’s Afrimoney) and QMoney Financial Services as mobile money operators. Afrimoney, dialled on *777#, offers transfers, bill payments, merchant services and online payments, and links to accounts at some of the country’s biggest banks. QMoney works by app, USSD (*323#) or web portal, and can be funded from linked bank accounts. Afrimoney also takes international transfers from the diaspora straight into the wallet.
Cards are secondary. Visa and Mastercard are the international schemes, and Google Pay is available for online and in-app payments in The Gambia.
What rules shape online payments in The Gambia?
VAT is 15%. The Gambia Revenue Authority’s VAT brochure sets the standard rate at 15%, with exports zero rated. Businesses with taxable supplies of GMD 2 million or more a year must register and charge VAT, and those above GMD 1 million may register voluntarily. Registrants must issue VAT inclusive invoices, advertise and quote prices including VAT, and file and pay monthly by the 15th of the following month.
Mobile money has its own regulation. The Central Bank of The Gambia’s Regulation for the Provision of Mobile Money Services defines retail transfers by banks and non-banks, aims to allow electronic payment services without risking the safety of the national payment system, and sets minimum standards for consumer protection and risk management that every provider must meet.
Providers need a licence. The central bank lists Afrimoney and QMoney as mobile money operators, Afrimoney says it operates under the central bank’s supervision, and Wave holds its own licence, so a merchant’s payment provider should have the right connection for each wallet.
How would Omno route payments in The Gambia?
A merchant would connect once and set routing rules per method, currency and customer group. In The Gambia:
- Wave pay-ins would go to a provider that supports Wave in The Gambia, with the order pending until the customer confirms in the app.
- Afrimoney and QMoney pay-ins would be offered in the hosted checkout next to Wave, each routed to a provider that holds that wallet.
- Card pay-ins can be routed by BIN, with cascading to the next provider in the rule if one is unavailable or rejects the request.
Webhooks would carry the final status of each payment, the record a back office should trust before shipping an order, and the routing-decision log would show which provider handled each payment and why.
What should merchants plan for?
Plan for Wave first, then Afrimoney and QMoney. Each has its own customers, and covering all three reaches most wallet users.
Plan for VAT inclusive prices. Registered sellers must quote and advertise prices including the 15% VAT.
Plan for pending payments. Wallet payments wait for the customer’s confirmation, so orders need a pending state and webhook confirmation.
Plan for diaspora money. Remittances from Gambians abroad land directly in wallets such as Afrimoney, so many wallets are topped up by relatives abroad.