Flutterwave Acquires Mono to Deepen Open Banking Push

Flutterwave has acquired Mono, an African open banking infrastructure provider, in a move that strengthens its payments stack and signals a deeper commitment to bank-based and data-led financial services across the continent.

The transaction positions open banking as a core component of Flutterwave’s long-term fintech strategy as African markets increasingly shift away from card-heavy rails towards authenticated, account-to-account payment models. 

Mono will continue to operate independently following the acquisition, with no changes to its leadership, team or day-to-day operations.

Flutterwave’s investment is designed to align strategy rather than exert operational control, allowing Mono to maintain its development pace while contributing its infrastructure to Flutterwave’s broader ecosystem.

Open banking as a payments foundation

Mono has built an API-driven platform that enables secure access to bank account data, identity verification and direct account-to-account payments. These capabilities are becoming central to fintech growth in Africa as regulators, businesses and consumers place greater emphasis on trust, verification and local relevance.

By integrating Mono’s open banking APIs, Flutterwave expands its ability to support faster merchant onboarding, improved customer verification and reduced fraud. 

The acquisition also strengthens Flutterwave’s alternative payment methods, particularly in markets where bank transfers are more widely adopted than cards.

The deal reflects a broader recalibration underway in African fintech, where growth is increasingly tied to infrastructure that supports local banking systems rather than imported payment models. Open banking provides the technical layer required to connect payments, identity and financial data in a compliant and scalable way.

Strengthening platform depth

Beyond payments, the acquisition has implications for how fintech platforms serve businesses and developers. 

Access to bank-verified data simplifies compliance-heavy processes such as know your customer checks and account validation, improving conversion rates and reliability at scale.

For developers and partners, the combination of Flutterwave’s payments capabilities with Mono’s financial data infrastructure creates a more unified environment. 

Payments, identity and data services can be accessed within a single platform, reducing integration complexity and accelerating product launches.

The integration also enhances Flutterwave’s vertical depth. By owning more of the underlying infrastructure, the company can improve margins, increase platform stickiness and differentiate itself in an increasingly competitive payments landscape.

Executive perspective on the deal

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.”

From Mono’s perspective, the deal formalises a relationship that has been developing for several years. Flutterwave and Mono first partnered in 2021 and have since collaborated on open banking use cases across multiple markets.

“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,” said Abdulhamid Hassan, Founder and CEO of Mono.

“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.”

Regulatory and market implications

The acquisition also aligns with regulatory trends across Africa, where policymakers are encouraging standardisation, stronger data protection and interoperability within financial systems. 

By supporting frameworks such as PCI-DSS and ISO 27001, the combined platform addresses both commercial and regulatory expectations.

As demand grows for open, bank-native financial infrastructure, Flutterwave’s move signals a deliberate focus on long-term platform resilience rather than short-term product expansion. 

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.