When Visa invested in the Nigerian Fintech Moniepoint earlier this year, it does not only validate the newly formed unicorn – it marked a bold new direction.
Under this agreement, Nigerian Fintech is known to build one of Africa’s largest banking business platforms, hints that plans to be integrated with Visa Direct, a move that will unlock international payments for embarrassing and cross -border services.
This strategy is now shaped by the start of MonotyStarting from the UK corridor of Nigeria, his first invasion of financial services focusing on the diaspora. But this is not just another game for the volume, insists on the founder and Managing Director Tosin Eniolorunda. “We are not trying to be a remittance application,” he told TechCrunch. “We create a proper banking platform for immigrants.”
It is an ambitious move. The remittance area, especially in the corridor of the United Kingdom of Nigeria, is one of the busiest FINTech verticals in Africa. From Lemfi, Send and Nala to Zepz and Taptap Send, immigrants are not lacking choices. With the elegant experiences of users, the low pay and the brand’s shares, the established bodies have determined the space.
For most new immigrants, choosing a remittance application is one of the first financial decisions to – often through mouth to mouth. This means that Monieoworld not only enters slowly, but also should also address the abolition of established institutions already established in daily habits.
And while Moniepoint’s entry brings scale and reliability, some observers dispute whether the market needs another remittance platform.
Eniolorunda says Monieoworld wants to help new immigrants stay connected to family and duties back home while settling abroad. While there is no differentiation of the product or pricing on the first (remittances), a quick look at the Monieoworld website will show the placement around providing better pricing from other platforms.
But this in itself is not a ditch and is often a match down. Even Eniolorunda agrees: “We are not trying to say that we are here to be the cheapest,” the CEO said. “But because we already have an existing technology, rail processing and we have achieved economies of scale in many places. It means we can afford to be cheaper for our customers.”
Moniepoint has spent years of building infrastructure in Nigeria, from payments and cards to credit and compliance for businesses and, more recently, retail consumers. His argument is that this same stack, redefined for immigrants, can provide more value than autonomous remittance applications.
“We have provided easy, affordable products in Nigeria, where we now offer payments, credit software software and debit and credit services for our businesses and consumers,” says Eniolorunda. “We thought that in order to complete the cycle, we can also offer the same set of services in our market, but in the dispersion.”
Finding its place in a busy market
Removals are the entry point. However, the long -term goal, says Eniolorunda, is to offer a wider series of economic tools such as credit building. It is a vertical that has taken off in the US for the last two years, where digital platforms such as Zolve help immigrants access financial services, starting from credit as wedge, not remittances (Pillar is a similar company in the United Kingdom).
“When you settle in a new country, you have to build a credit history. People are trying to understand and find their basis in new countries and if they can find a platform that understands their scenario and helps build credit, it will be great for them,” he said.
Outflows from the UK culminated in £ 9.3 billion In 2023. Nigerians abroad sent home Over $ 20 billionAccording to the World Bank. It is a corridor where many players may probably exist and have a significant market share. However, with these players competing with pricing or speed – both now commercialized – Eniolorunda believes that only some will be winners by providing a higher experience.
As Moniepoint deepens its local footprint in African countries such as Kenya, it plans to launch Monieoworld corridors for these disperses in the United Kingdom, the US or Canada, as well as the next logical step. This model will allow the old fintech of the decade to weaken the actions of Nigeria’s gravity by spreading its exposure-an Eniolorunda tar says it was echoed with investors during its latest increase.
Still, the challenge is real: Moniepoint enters a highly competitive space and remains unclear how much room for it is to capture. While Eniolorunda sees inevitable front integration, the profitable fintech bets that infrastructure, compliance know -how and deep cultural understanding will give it enough elevation to matter.
“When we started the Moniepoint and considered its banking service, we felt we were slowly coming in, but the market was growing and looking at where we are now,” Eniolorunda said, reflecting Moniepoint’s delayed entry into the bank service in 2019. “
