Flutterwave acquires open banking startup Mono in strategic fintech expansion

Flutterwave’s acquisition of Nigerian open-banking company Mono represents a deliberate bet on the future architecture of Africa’s financial system, one built not just on payments, but on data, trust, and deeply integrated infrastructure. The deal, completed through an all-stock transaction valued between $25 million and $40 million, received majority approval from Mono’s shareholders and board, underscoring broad internal confidence in the strategic direction.

Finalised in December 2025 and subject to standard regulatory approvals for regulated entities, the transaction brings together two companies that have shaped different but complementary layers of Africa’s fintech stack. Flutterwave has grown into one of the continent’s most widely used payments platforms, powering transactions for businesses ranging from small merchants to large enterprises across multiple markets. Mono, on the other hand, has focused on what happens beneath the surface: secure access to bank accounts, financial data, identity signals, and direct bank-to-bank payment rails.

Rather than folding Mono into its operations, Flutterwave is keeping it as an independent entity, with no disruption to existing services, partners, or customers. Mono’s leadership and product roadmap remain intact, a structure designed to preserve the company’s speed and developer-first culture while allowing its infrastructure to scale through Flutterwave’s network. Both companies have indicated that the combination is expected to accelerate innovation, deepen infrastructure capabilities, and expand reach across African markets.

Mono’s founding vision helps explain why the deal is strategically significant. Launched in 2019 by Abdulhamid Hassan and Prakhar, the company was built around the belief that African businesses needed more than payment acceptance, they needed secure, consent-driven access to financial accounts and data to build smarter products. At the time, open banking was not yet a mainstream concept in Nigeria. Five years later, Mono has processed over 150 billion transactions, served more than seven million users, and expanded beyond Nigeria into Kenya and Ghana, becoming a critical infrastructure provider for fintechs, lenders, and digital platforms.

The decision to join Flutterwave was not driven by financial pressure or slowing momentum. Mono’s growth, product depth, and team strength positioned it well to continue independently. However, leadership from both sides concluded that the convergence of payments and open banking presented a rare opportunity to build something more powerful together. Flutterwave’s experience operating large-scale, mission-critical payment infrastructure across borders complements Mono’s open-banking rails and deep financial data access, creating what both companies describe as a more complete financial operating system for African businesses.

For Flutterwave, the acquisition strengthens its ability to support faster merchant onboarding, improve verification processes, reduce fraud, and enable seamless account-to-account payments. It also adds vertical depth to its platform, with potential benefits ranging from stronger margins to greater platform stickiness and differentiation. For developers and businesses, the integration promises a more unified environment where payments, identity, and financial data infrastructure coexist, reducing complexity and speeding up product development.

The transaction also stands out in Africa’s venture landscape. Mono had raised $17.5 million from local and international investors, and the deal allows those backers to at least recover their capital, with some early investors reportedly achieving returns of up to 20x. In an ecosystem where exits remain limited, the acquisition provides a clear example of value creation through long-term infrastructure building rather than short-term scale.

Advisory support for the transaction was provided by Goodwin Procter LLP, alongside Rachna Shah of External General Counsel, who supported Mono throughout the process. Completion remains subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals for relevant entities.

Beyond the companies involved, the deal reflects a broader shift underway in African fintech. As markets move away from card-dominated models toward bank-based, authenticated payment systems, open banking is emerging as foundational infrastructure. By combining scale with deep data access, Flutterwave is positioning itself not just as a payments leader, but as a central player in shaping the next phase of Africa’s digital financial economy, one where payments, data, and trust are built to work together at scale.