Global payments company, Visa, has made financial input to boost digital payments in Nigeria, and Africa. This was done through a strategic investment in Moniepoint, Nigeria’s billion-dollar fintech company. The investment, reportedly worth over $10 million, comes just three months after Moniepoint raised $110 million in Series C funding.
Founded in 2015 by Tosin Eniolorunda and Felix Ike, Moniepoint has emerged as one of Nigeria’s largest merchant payment processor, handling an impressive $22 billion in payment volumes and over 1 billion transactions monthly. The company serves 10 million businesses and individuals through its various offerings, including banking, payments, and credit services.
Speaking on the investment, Eniolorunda, Moniepoint CEO, said:
“Visa’s backing is a strong endorsement of our vision to digitize and support African businesses at scale. We aim to deepen financial inclusion, enabling SMEs to access the tools and resources they need to thrive in an increasingly digital economy.”
The partnership will focus on introducing contactless payments in Nigeria, where the Central Bank is pushing for increased adoption of digital transactions.
The deal also gives Moniepoint access to Visa’s Cybersource system for better transaction visibility and Visa Direct for international money transfers, supporting the company’s expansion plans beyond Africa.
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For Visa, this investment completes a trifecta of backing Nigeria’s locally-founded fintech unicorns, following previous investments in Interswitch and Flutterwave. Andrew Torre, Visa’s Regional President for Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa, emphasized the partnership’s focus on supporting small businesses:
“We will enable even the smallest businesses to thrive through innovative payment and software solutions.”
With over 300,000 POS agents and processing 5.2 billion transactions in 2023, Moniepoint has established itself as a key player in Nigeria’s digital payment landscape. The company’s continued growth reflects the rapid digitalization of financial services in Africa, where approximately 83% of employment remains in the informal economy.
