While mobile money services become a part of daily life for millions of citizens in Sub-Saharan Africa, a new Ericsson survey found that many potential customers face basic barriers to accessing the services on their own mobile phones. Ericsson said a lack of awareness and basic prerequisites, and low appreciation of the benefits are some of the hurdles.

Highlights from the report include:

• The study of five countries in Sub-Saharan Africa reveals 63 percent of respondents are unbanked, and 52 percent use mobile money through agents.
• Twenty percent of the population uses mobile money services on a mobile phone, and half of these people are unbanked.
• Among lower socioeconomic groups in Sub-Saharan Africa, four out of 10 people lack basic prerequisites for starting their own mobile money account such as a valid form of ID or a mobile phone.

The report presents insights from a sample of 6,215 respondents aged 17-59, representing 150 million people across five countries: Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Nigeria, and Uganda.

"Consumers have to make long journeys to reach the location where they can pay their bills," Patrik Hedlund, senior advisor of Ericsson ConsumerLab, said in a statement. "Saving money and taking loans also becomes problematic in unbanked Africa, with many hiding cash in their homes and relying on informal lenders who charge high interest rates. So, mobile money is really beneficial to them – if they can use it."