Flutterwave, Africa’s largest fintech company, has acquired Nigerian bank, Mono, to “chart” the continent’s “next big leap in payments,” according to a press release.
Flutterwave, headquartered in San Francisco and with a presence in more than 33 African countries, has processed more than $2 billion in payments and over 25 million transactions, according to information on its website.
The company, led by a team of seasoned African professionals from companies including Standard Bank, PayPal, and Google Wallet, was created to empower businesses and banks financially. The platform provides the technology, tools, and infrastructure for users to accept payments globally, make single or bulk transfers to bank accounts, launch e-commerce websites, generate unique payment links, create instant virtual cards, and more, per its website.
Flutterwave Acquires Mono
Flutterwave has acquired Mono — a Nigerian open banking startup that had raised $17.5 million — in an all-stock deal that is valued at $25–$40 million, TechCrunch reports. Mono, which covers about 12% of Nigeria’s banking population, or more than 8 million people, will still operate as an independent product, per the outlet.
The acquisition will benefit Flutterwave by integrating Mono’s API technology to leverage open banking as it seeks to “chart Africa’s next big leap in payments,” the company explained in a press release. Flutterwave hopes the move will also bring it closer to its goal of creating a “connected, interoperable financial system for Africa.”
“For nearly a decade, one mission has sat at the heart of everything we do: connecting Africa to the world and back with seamless payment solutions,” Olugbenga Agboola, Flutterwave founder and CEO, said in a post shared on LinkedIn.
“As the landscape of African payments shifts, our responsibility as leaders is to look ahead and build what the continent needs next. I believe open banking, virtual accounts + A2A payments is central to that future. Mono is Africa’s leading open banking and account-based payments infrastructure, and bringing their expertise into the Flutterwave family contributes to building what I call Africa’s ‘payments superhighway,'” he added.
