Flutterwave has acquired Nigerian open banking startup Mono in an all-stock transaction valued between $25 million and $40 million, a move aimed at strengthening its payments, data, and identity infrastructure across Africa.
The acquisition brings together two major fintech infrastructure players, with Mono set to continue operating independently and without changes to its leadership or day-to-day operations. Early investors in Mono are expected to recover their capital, with some reportedly recording returns of up to 20 times their initial investment.
Flutterwave said Mono’s platform provides secure access to financial data, identity verification, and account-to-account payment services, capabilities it described as increasingly critical as African markets transition toward authenticated, bank-based payment systems.
Flutterwave Chief Executive Officer, Olugbenga ‘GB’ Agboola, said payments, data, and trust must work together, noting that Mono has built vital open-banking infrastructure that will allow Flutterwave to expand opportunities for businesses across Africa while maintaining strong security and compliance standards.
Mono Chief Executive Officer, Abdulhamid Hassan, said the acquisition builds on the existing partnership between both companies, combining Mono’s financial data, payments, and identity infrastructure with Flutterwave’s scale and continental reach.
The integration of Mono’s open-banking application programming interfaces is expected to streamline merchant onboarding, enhance customer verification, reduce fraud, and enable seamless account-to-account payments across multiple African markets. Developers and partners are also expected to benefit from a more unified platform that reduces complexity and accelerates product development.
Industry analysts say the deal deepens Flutterwave’s vertical capabilities, with potential benefits including stronger platform loyalty, improved margins, and closer alignment with global security standards such as PCI-DSS and ISO 27001.
Open banking is increasingly seen as a foundation for Africa’s fintech growth, enabling trusted data sharing, direct bank payments, and the creation of new financial products. By acquiring Mono, Flutterwave positions itself at the centre of the continent’s shift away from card-based systems toward bank-integrated and alternative payment solutions.
Founded in 2020, Mono has processed more than 150 billion transactions, served over seven million users, and expanded its operations into Kenya and Ghana. The acquisition marks a significant step in shaping Africa’s next generation of fintech infrastructure.
