Orange Liberia's mobile money service gets separate licence under new regs

Details: John Tanner; Category: Mobile Finance; 24 February 2026; 823 views

The Liberia Telecommunications Authority (LTA) said on Friday it has granted Orange Money a separate license to operate as a mobile money service provider under new regulations requiring telcos to decouple from their mobile money subsidiaries.

In a Facebook post, LTA chairperson Clarence K. Massaquoi said Orange Money is now authorised to continue operations as a separate entity from Orange Liberia.

He added that Orange’s main rival in telecoms and mobile money services, Lonestar Cell MTN, is expected to obtain a similar separate license in the near future.

Under the LTA’s updated value-added service (VAS) regulations, Orange Liberia and Lonestar Cell MTN are required to operate separately from their respective fintech subsidiaries, Orange Money and MTN Mobile Money.

The new regulations also place the USSD shortcodes that enable fintech players to enter the mobile payments space under full control of the LTA, rather than telcos. The LTA said this will result in a level playing field and open the market to new players.

According to news agency Ecofin, Orange Liberia and Lonestar Cell MTN dominate the country’s mobile money space, with Orange Money claiming over 1 million subscribers at the end of March 2025, while MTN Mobile Money reported 1.28 million subscribers at the end of 2025.