# EVC Plus: Hormuud's mobile money service

> EVC Plus in facts: what it is, when it started, the 2021 licence, user numbers, the GSMA certification, links to banks and the Waafi app, and its use for aid payments.

Source page: https://calankii.com/en/businesses/evc-plus/
Last checked: 2026-11-12
Publisher: Calankii (https://calankii.com)

## The short version

**EVC Plus**, short for Electronic Voucher Card, is the mobile money service run by [Hormuud Telecom](/en/businesses/hormuud-telecom/). People use it to send money, pay shops and bills, and receive salaries and aid, by typing short codes on any phone ([VOA, 27 February 2021](https://www.voanews.com/a/africa_somalia-issues-first-license-mobile-money-service/6202644.html)). It is the largest such service in Somalia and covers the south and centre of the country ([Mobile money in Somalia](/en/economy/mobile-money/)). VOA described it as free to use (same source).

## When it started

VOA wrote in 2021 that mobile money in Somalia had "emerged 10 years ago", which puts its start at about 2011 ([VOA, 27 February 2021](https://www.voanews.com/a/africa_somalia-issues-first-license-mobile-money-service/6202644.html)). Sources differ on the exact year: some give 2009, others 2011 or 2012 ([Wikipedia, Hormuud Telecom](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hormuud_Telecom)). TechAfrica News calls it Somalia's first mobile money platform ([TechAfrica News, 20 August 2025](https://techafricanews.com/2025/08/20/somalias-hormuud-telecom-secures-gsma-mobile-money-re-certification/)).

## The first licence, 2021

On **27 February 2021** the Central Bank of Somalia's governor, Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi, gave Hormuud the country's **first mobile money licence**, for EVC Plus ([VOA, 27 February 2021](https://www.voanews.com/a/africa_somalia-issues-first-license-mobile-money-service/6202644.html)). Until then mobile money had run without regulation. At the time EVC Plus had about **3 million** users among Hormuud's **3.6 million** subscribers (same source). The licence followed the Central Bank's Mobile Money Regulations of 2019 ([Mobile money in Somalia](/en/economy/mobile-money/)).

## Size

- The World Bank reported about **155 million** mobile money transactions a month in Somalia in 2018, worth about **$2.7 billion** ([VOA, 2021, citing the World Bank](https://www.voanews.com/a/africa_somalia-issues-first-license-mobile-money-service/6202644.html)). This figure covers the whole market. Some later reports give it for EVC Plus alone ([Mobile money in Somalia](/en/economy/mobile-money/)).
- In 2025 Hormuud said EVC Plus had more than **4.5 million** users and was used by more than **145 aid organisations** to pay cash aid ([TechAfrica News, 20 August 2025](https://techafricanews.com/2025/08/20/somalias-hormuud-telecom-secures-gsma-mobile-money-re-certification/)).

## Certification

The **GSMA**, the mobile operators' industry body, first certified EVC Plus under its Mobile Money Certification programme in **2022** and renewed the certification in **August 2025**. The programme checks services against eight principles and nearly 300 criteria, including fraud prevention, customer data protection and resilience. TechAfrica News reported that EVC Plus was one of about ten services worldwide holding it, alongside Safaricom's and Vodacom's M-Pesa and MTN MoMo ([TechAfrica News, 20 August 2025](https://techafricanews.com/2025/08/20/somalias-hormuud-telecom-secures-gsma-mobile-money-re-certification/); [Garowe Online](https://www.garoweonline.com/en/news/somalia/somalia-hormuud-telecom-re-certified-by-gsma-for-secure-mobile-money-services)).

## Links to banks and apps

- **Banks:** Salaam Somali Bank's DEEQTOON mobile banking was built on Hormuud's technology in 2010 ([Salaam Somali Bank](/en/businesses/salaam-somali-bank/)). In October 2024 Hormuud connected EVC Plus to accounts at [MyBank](/en/businesses/mybank-somalia/) and [Agro Bank](/en/businesses/somalias-newer-banks/) ([TechAfrica News, 21 October 2024](https://techafricanews.com/2024/10/21/hormuud-partners-with-mybank-and-agrobank-to-enhance-digital-banking/)).
- **Waafi:** the Waafi smartphone app, launched in April 2021, moves money between EVC Plus wallets and bank accounts ([Waafi](/en/businesses/waafi/)).

For the other services, see [Zaad](/en/businesses/zaad/), [Sahal](/en/businesses/sahal/) and [eDahab](/en/businesses/edahab/).

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