African fintech Moniepoint gets backing from Visa, plans to work on contactless payments

Visa has joined the African fintech scene Moneypoint As a new investor. The banking and payments platform has confirmed to TechCrunch that it has received a “strategic investment” from the global payments giant as the two companies look to drive financial inclusion and support the growth of SMEs across Africa.

Sources close to the deal say the fintech – which Announced an investment of $110 million Last October, it received more than $10 million from Visa. The fintech, which now has a Series C of more than $120 million, is in talks with other investors and may attract more funding in the coming months, all while maintaining its $1 billion valuation, sources say. Moniepoint declined to comment on the size of the Visa check or interest from other investors.

Moniepoint provides businesses and individuals with bank accounts, credit, payments, and other financial tools through an app and a network of agents. The fintech now processes more than 1 billion transactions per month, with total payment volume reaching US$22 billion – a growth of US$1.2 billion More than 25% in less than three months. Its meteoric rise began during the Central Bank of Nigeria’s cashless drive in early 2023 and has continued steadily, making it an important player in shaping the future of digital payments in the country.

Moniepoint has only a small portion of the total market. Nigeria’s digital payment market spans multiple channels, including electronic transfers, ATMs, point-of-sale devices, mobile agents and online payments. In 2023, businesses and consumers completed nearly $400 billion worth of transactions, according to Switch payments between banks in the country. Electronic transfers, powered by the NIP instant payments network – similar to UPI in India and Pix in Brazil – dominate the market, accounting for nearly 90% of such transactions. According to data from Stears. Other channels, such as mobile agents, ATMs and point-of-sale systems, lag far behind.

While Moniepoint operates across most of these channels, Visa’s investment highlights the fintech’s position and potential in Nigeria’s card value chain as a major issuer and acquirer.

“We are present in Nigeria today, leading the chart in merchant acquisition and consumer banking,” CEO Tosin Enyulurunda told TechCrunch. “With Visa as our investor, we can collaborate strategically to continue growing the payment ecosystem and expand into more countries, which is a key goal for us.”

One way the two companies will look to “grow the payment ecosystem” is by introducing contactless payments, Enyulurunda said. “The central bank has indicated the need to enhance contactless services to improve accessibility and conduct micro transactions. These are some of the things we expect from the partnership. It is progress in the right direction.”

The Central Bank of Nigeria has demonstrated its latest intention to drive contactless payment adoption through draft guidelines for transaction limits in 2023. However, implementation will depend on clearer regulations and resolving issues around privacy, security and trust. Once this issue is addressed, contactless payments can significantly increase transaction volume and arguably outperform other payment methods in the country.

Globally, Visa notes this The use of contactless cards outpaces the use of mobile wallets In many markets. Moniepoint is well positioned to lead this transformation in Nigeria by offering contactless payment terminals for businesses and smart cards for individuals, paving the way for greater adoption.

On the other hand, Moniepoint will leverage Visa’s Cybersource system to gain better transaction visibility. Additionally, it plans to integrate with Visa Direct for remittances and remittances as it looks to expand into markets within Africa and beyond.