Flutterwave Expands Payments Infrastructure With Acquisition of Open Banking Firm Mono

SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Flutterwave, Africa's leading payments technology company, has acquired Mono, a pioneer in open banking infrastructure across the continent. 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.

Mono's API-driven platform enables secure access to financial data, identity verification, and account-to-account payments; capabilities that are increasingly critical as African markets move toward more trusted, data-led financial services. Under the terms of the acquisition, Mono will continue to operate independently, with no changes to its leadership structure, team, or day-to-day operations. Flutterwave's stake enables strategic alignment rather than operational control, allowing Mono to maintain its pace of innovation while contributing its open banking infrastructure to Flutterwave's broader payments ecosystem.

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. 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. The collaboration also creates a clear pathway for expanding into richer alternative payment methods, authenticated payment flows, and, over time, open banking-enabled stablecoin use cases.

It also carries implications well beyond product expansion. Businesses gain access to infrastructure that simplifies compliance-heavy processes such as identity checks and bank verification, while improving conversion and reliability at scale. Developers and partners benefit from a unified environment where payments and financial data coexist, reducing complexity and accelerating time to market. The integration enhances Flutterwave's vertical depth, reinforcing long-term value creation through stronger margins, deeper platform stickiness, and differentiated infrastructure. Regulatory stakeholders benefit from increased standardization, stronger data protection, and adherence to global security frameworks, including PCI-DSS and ISO 27001.

Commenting on the acquisition, Olugbenga 'GB' Agboola, Founder and CEO of Flutterwave, 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."

Adding to this, Abdulhamid Hassan, Founder and CEO of Mono, said,  "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."

At a time when Africa's digital economy is demanding infrastructure that is open by design and built for trust, the investment signals a deliberate move toward systems that are interoperable, data-driven, and designed to support long-term growth across the continent.

The transaction was advised by Nichole Yembra, Founder and Managing Partner at The Chrysalis Advisors Africa, who supported the parties through strategic positioning and execution.

About Flutterwave

Flutterwave is the leading payments technology company that enables businesses across the world to expand their operations in Africa and other emerging markets through a platform that enables local and cross-border transactions via one Application Programming Interface (API). Flutterwave has processed over 1 billion transactions in excess of USD $40B, serves global and African customers like Uber, Air Peace, Bamboo, PiggyVest, and across various industries. The company's key advantage is connecting businesses to various local and international payment types to enable them to expand globally. Its remittance solution, Send App by Flutterwave, also enables cross-border transactions from the diaspora to African countries.  Flutterwave processes payments via multiple payment modes, including local and international cards, mobile wallets, bank transfers, and Google Pay. The company has an infrastructure reach in 34 African countries. For more information on Flutterwave's journey, please visit www.flutterwave.com.

About Mono

Mono is a leading open banking infrastructure provider that empowers businesses across Africa to develop data-driven financial services. Through its APIs and no-code offerings, Mono enables customers to access aggregated customer-permissioned financial data, verify identity and account ownership, initiate payments, and build innovative financial products. Mono connects to over 50 banks that reach over 8 million bank customers across African countries. Founded in 2020 in Lagos, Mono serves some of the most innovative financial services businesses across Africa and over a thousand more. Mono's vision is to power the internet economy of Africa through Open Banking. For more information, visit mono.co.

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2853715/Flutterwave.jpg