Flutterwave, Africa’s leading payments technology company, has acquired Mono, a Lagos-based open banking infrastructure provider, in a strategic move to expand account-to-account payments and data-driven financial services across the continent.
The acquisition underscores Flutterwave’s long-term plan to build a connected and interoperable financial ecosystem in Africa, with open banking positioned as a core driver of alternative payment solutions.
Mono will continue to operate independently, retaining its leadership team and day-to-day operations. Flutterwave’s stake is intended to align the companies strategically while allowing Mono to maintain its innovation pace and contribute its open banking infrastructure to Flutterwave’s broader payments platform.
Mono’s API-driven platform provides secure access to customer-permissioned financial data, identity verification, and direct bank-to-bank payments, capabilities increasingly critical as African markets adopt trusted, data-led financial systems.
The acquisition reflects a growing shift in fintech, where bank-authenticated and locally relevant payment methods are overtaking traditional card-based systems as the primary growth drivers.
The integration is expected to streamline compliance-heavy processes, including know-your-customer (KYC) checks and bank verification, while improving transaction success rates and reducing fraud.
Developers and fintech partners will benefit from a unified environment where payments and financial data coexist, accelerating product development and reducing operational complexity. The acquisition also strengthens Flutterwave’s infrastructure, enhances platform stickiness, and drives long-term value creation.
Commenting on the acquisition, Flutterwave Founder and CEO, Olugbenga ‘GB’ Agboola, said, “This acquisition reflects how we think about the future of financial infrastructure in Africa. Payments, data, and trust cannot exist in silos. Open banking provides the connective tissue, and Mono has built critical infrastructure in this space. This acquisition allows us to expand what’s possible for businesses operating across African markets, while staying grounded in security, compliance, and local relevance.”
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Mono Founder and CEO, Abdulhamid Hassan, added, “We built Mono to unlock Africa’s Open Banking potential, and since our first partnership with Flutterwave in 2021 and working together over the years, we’ve seen the power of a coordinated effort towards this goal. Mono’s capabilities across financial data access, direct bank payments, and identity verification, combined with Flutterwave’s unmatched scale and global reach, create something more defensible and comprehensive. This acquisition allows us to build the infrastructure layer that powers the next generation of African fintech at the speed and scale the continent deserves.”
Brandspur notes that the deal also strengthens Africa’s digital economy by enabling more interoperable, secure, and data-driven payment systems. Flutterwave, which has processed over one billion transactions worth more than USD $40 billion and operates in 34 African countries, will leverage Mono’s infrastructure to improve onboarding, verification, and account-to-account payments for businesses.
Founded in 2020, Mono connects to more than 50 banks and serves thousands of businesses across Africa. The acquisition is expected to accelerate open banking adoption, support regulatory compliance, and expand access to innovative financial services for businesses and consumers alike.
This transaction signals a broader trend in African fintech, where open banking is becoming a critical enabler of digital payments and financial inclusion.
