Flutterwave acquires open banking startup Mono

Flutterwave, Africa’s leading payments technology company and most valuable unicorn, has acquired Mono, a Y Combinator-backed Nigerian open banking infrastructure provider, in an all-stock transaction estimated between $25 million and $40 million.

The acquisition integrates Mono’s API-driven platform, which enables businesses to securely access financial data, verify identities, track customer financials, and initiate account-to-account payments across multiple banks and fintechs.

Often described as the “Plaid for Africa,” Mono has powered millions of bank account linkages and processed vast amounts of financial data, serving clients including major digital lenders and platforms like Moniepoint and PalmPay.

Under the terms of the deal, Mono will continue to operate independently, with no changes to its leadership, team, or day-to-day operations.

This structure allows Mono to leverage Flutterwave’s extensive reach, spanning over 30 African countries, local licenses, and payment rails, while maintaining its innovation pace and contributing its open banking technology to Flutterwave’s ecosystem.

The move signals a shift in Africa’s fintech landscape toward bank-based, authenticated payment methods over traditional card rails, enhancing capabilities like faster onboarding, reduced fraud, and seamless direct payments.

It also marks a rare meaningful exit in the African fintech space, providing liquidity for Mono’s investors amid a challenging funding environment.

This acquisition kicks off 2026 with significant consolidation in African payments infrastructure, positioning Flutterwave to deepen its vertical integration and support the continent’s evolving digital economy.

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.”

On his part, 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.

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