How do people in Madagascar pay online?
Mobile money grew fast. IMF Financial Access Survey data show active mobile money accounts doubling from 3.07 million in 2021 to 6.12 million in 2024, and transactions rising from 501 million to 1.27 billion a year over the same period. The IFC reported that mobile money accounts had overtaken bank accounts, and Madagascar adopted a law on electronic money in 2016.
Banks reach a smaller group. Central bank statistics cited by L’Express de Madagascar put traditional bank penetration at around 18% of the population, and the World Bank’s Global Findex found that 24.5% of adults had an account at a financial institution or with a mobile money provider in 2024.
MVola is the wallet most often named. Its chief executive said in October 2026 that nearly 4 million people use MVola, with more than 60,000 cash points and more than 50,000 merchants accepting it. For online sales, MVola offers an e-commerce button for websites and apps, and in shops the merchant starts the request and the customer confirms with a secret PIN. Customers can also pay bills through a USSD menu on any phone.
Orange Money is another option. The IFC describes it as one of the country’s mobile money providers, and Orange lists Madagascar among the countries where Web Payment is available. Only registered Orange Money merchants can use it, after signing up in an Orange store with the documents local law requires, and the customer validates each payment with a one-time code obtained through USSD.
Cards complete the picture for banked shoppers. Visa and Mastercard cards serve them, and Google lists Madagascar for Google Pay in websites and apps.
What rules shape online payments in Madagascar?
VAT is 20%, and 0% on exports. According to PwC, a foreign company without a permanent establishment that provides services to a taxpayer in Madagascar is subject to VAT and should appoint a tax representative to collect it; without one, the Malagasy business customer accounts for the VAT. A service counts as performed in Madagascar if it is carried out or used there, or invoiced to a taxpayer established there, and there is no registration threshold for non-residents.
Mobile money fees are taxed. PwC reports a tax of 5% of the fees on mobile money transactions, including transfers, payments for goods and services and money received from abroad, paid by the electronic money institution that charges the fees.
Data protection is on paper but not yet in force. Law No. 2014-038 on personal data was published in 2015, but DLA Piper notes it is not yet effective because no implementing decree has been published. The supervisory commission, the CMIL, was created by decree in December 2023 and is not yet fully operational. The law allows transfers abroad only to countries with sufficient protection, or with the person’s informed consent or where needed for a contract with them.
Electronic transactions have their own law. Madagascar adopted Law No. 2014-024 on electronic transactions in 2014.
How would Omno route payments in Madagascar?
A merchant would connect once and set routing rules per method, currency and customer group. In Madagascar:
- MVola pay-ins would go to a provider with an MVola merchant connection, with the order pending until the customer confirms.
- Orange Money pay-ins would go to a provider that holds a registered Orange Money merchant account, with the one-time code step in the hosted checkout.
- 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, and the routing-decision log would record which provider handled it and why.
What should merchants plan for?
Plan for wallets before cards. With around one in five people banked, a card-only checkout leaves out most customers.
Plan for merchant onboarding with each wallet. Orange Money opens Web Payment only to officially registered merchants, so allow time for documents and testing before launch.
Plan for VAT on services. Foreign suppliers to Malagasy businesses need a tax representative, or their customers account for the VAT, so invoices should show the right details.
Plan for data rules to change. The 2014 data protection law could take effect once its decree is published, so keep a record of where customer data goes.