“The transaction deepens Flutterwave’s long-term commitment to building a connected, interoperable financial system for Africa and positions open banking as a core pillar in the evolution of alternative payment methods across the region,” the company said in a Monday (Jan. 5) news release.
Mono’s platform, the release adds, allows for secure access to financial data, identity verification, and account-to-account payments. These capabilities are increasingly important as African markets shift to more trusted, data-led financial services, Flutterwave said.
Under the deal, Mono will still operate independently while contributing its open banking infrastructure to Flutterwave’s wider payments ecosystem, the release said.
“The acquisition reflects a growing recognition that the next phase of Africa’s payments growth will be driven less by card rails and more by bank-based, authenticated, and locally relevant payment methods,” Flutterwave said. “By integrating Mono’s open banking APIs, Flutterwave strengthens its ability to support faster onboarding, improved verification, reduced fraud, and seamless account-to-account payments.”
In addition, the deal also sets the stage for expansion into “richer alternative payment methods,” authenticated payment flows, and, eventually, open banking-enabled stablecoin use cases, the release said.
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“This acquisition reflects how we think about the future of financial infrastructure in Africa,” Flutterwave founder and CEO Olugbenga “GB” Agboola said in the announcement.
“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.”
Meanwhile, research by PYMNTS Intelligence finds that a lack of familiarity might be the reason open banking payments have yet to catch on in the U.S., with 56% of consumers saying they are not even aware that the option exists.
“The figure dwarfs every other reason consumers cite for not trying the service, including worries about entering banking information online or a preference for debit cards,” PYMNTS wrote last fall.
“The data finds that pay by bank, often described as a direct-from-account alternative to card payments, is a solution waiting for a problem. Consumers show they can be swayed by discounts, loyalty benefits and cash back offers. However, those incentives don’t matter if half the market doesn’t realize the option is on the table.”
