Moniepoint secures $10 million funding from Visa to drive digital payment in Africa

African fintech company, Moniepoint has secured funding of over $10 million from Visa, bringing its Series C raise to an excess of $120 million. The digital payment company explained that the investment will drive financial inclusion and strengthen small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) development across Africa. 

Visa’s investment highlights the platform’s position and potential in Nigeria’s card value chain as a major issuer and acquirer. Moniepoint operates across electronic transfers, ATMs, POS devices, mobile agents, and web payments.

Moniepoint CEO Tosin Eniolorunda while speaking with TechCrunch said the investment would help the fintech company grow in payment service and expand its operations.  

“We’re present in Nigeria today, leading the chart in merchant acquiring and consumer banking. With Visa as our investor, we can strategically collaborate to continue to grow the payment ecosystem and expand to more countries, which is a key goal for us,” he said.  

Following its investment, Visa will join Moniepoint’s board. Other prominent backers in the fintech include Development Partners International, Google’s Africa Investment Fund, QED Investors, and British International Investment (BII), among others.

With its monthly transaction volume exceeding 1 billion, Moniepoint’s total payment value now tops $22 billion, signifying a growth of over 25% in under three months. Ever since Nigeria’s cashless drive rose in 2023, the fintech platform has leveraged the platform to stand as a significant instrument that shapes the future of digital payment in Nigeria. 

Its most recent funding in October from Google’s Africa Investment Fund saw Moniepoint close on $110 million. The Series C round was also led by Development Partners International’s African Development Partners (ADP) III fund. Other investors, including African private equity firm Verod Capital and existing investor Lightrock, participated. 

The fintech company’s October funding was also backed by QED Investors, British International Investment (BII), and Endeavor Catalyst, and has raised over $180 million since its launch in 2015.

The round made Moneypoint a unicorn — a private company with a valuation of $1 billion or more. African fintech was last valued at slightly over $800 million two years ago.

Also Read: African startups raised $254m in October 2024 led by Moniepoint’s unicorn-making raise.

Moniepoint’s drive for contactless payment adoptions

Nigeria’s apex bank, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) revealed its drive for the adoption of contactless payment with draft guidelines for transaction limits in 2023. The implementation of these guidelines depends on clearer regulations and resolving issues related to privacy, security, and trust.

The future of contactless payments holds the weight to significantly boost transaction volumes and outpace other payment methods in the country. 

Speaking on how both companies seek to grow the payment ecosystem by introducing contactless payments, Eniolorunda explained that the partnership with Visa seeks to improve access to micro-transactions.

“The central bank has indicated the need to drive contactless services to improve accessibility and conduct micro-transactions. So these are some things that we expect from the partnership. It’s progress in the right direction,” he said. 

Moniepoint seeks to leverage Visa’s Cybersource system to gain better visibility into transactions. It also plans to integrate with Visa Direct for remittances and money transfers to expand into markets within and outside Africa.

It looks to set the stage for contactless-enabled payment terminals to businesses and chip cards to individuals which set the stage for further adoption.

Visa noted that contactless card usage surpasses mobile wallets in the global markets. The company has a history of investing in Africa’s payment infrastructure, backing players like Interswitch, Flutterwave, Paystack, and JUMO over the past decade. 

With its investment in Moniepoint, Visa is making its entry into Nigeria’s SME market as it aims to digitize payments. 

“Visa’s investment in Moniepoint is the latest example of our long-standing commitment to advancing digital economies in Africa. We will enable even the smallest businesses to thrive through innovative payment and software solutions that allow SMEs to scale and open new revenue opportunities while streamlining their operations,” said Andrew Torre, Regional President, of Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa at Visa.