Without a UPI, Africa pays a toll on cash. Airtel Money collects it

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Airtel Money is now trading in London, valued at about $7 billion. The African mobile-money company made $373 million in profit last financial year. It is based on a simple model. Depositing cash is free. Customers pay mainly when they take money out as cash, and sometimes when they send it. In markets where most adults have no bank account, those fees add up. Bharti Airtel's Indian business, Airtel Payments Bank, takes a roughly similar cut. But it only made $12 million. Most of this…