Flutterwave has acquired Mono, an African open banking infrastructure provider, in a move that brings financial data access and bank-to-bank payments closer to the centre of its payments stack.
Mono provides API-based access to bank accounts, identity verification, and account-to-account payments across several African markets. These capabilities are becoming increasingly relevant as fintech platforms shift away from card-dependent rails toward bank-based, authenticated payment flows. Under the deal, Mono will continue to operate independently, with no changes to its leadership, team, or day-to-day operations. Flutterwave’s involvement is positioned as strategic rather than operational, allowing Mono to continue developing its open banking products while integrating into Flutterwave’s broader ecosystem.
The acquisition reflects a broader trend in African fintech: growth is increasingly driven by infrastructure that supports direct bank payments, verified identities, and regulated data access, rather than by cards alone. By incorporating Mono’s open banking APIs, Flutterwave expands its ability to support faster merchant onboarding, stronger verification, lower fraud exposure, and account-to-account payment flows that are more locally aligned with African markets. Over time, the integration also creates a pathway for more advanced use cases, including authenticated alternative payment methods and open-banking-enabled stablecoin transactions.
Beyond payments, the deal has implications for compliance and developer experience. Businesses using the combined infrastructure can simplify processes such as bank verification and identity checks while improving reliability at scale. For developers and partners, tighter integration between payments and financial data reduces implementation complexity and shortens time to market. From a regulatory perspective, the platforms emphasise standardisation, data protection, and alignment with global security frameworks, including PCI-DSS and ISO 27001.
Flutterwave CEO Olugbenga ‘GB’ Agboola said the acquisition reflects a shift in how financial infrastructure is being built on the continent. “Payments, data, and trust cannot exist in silos. Open banking provides the connective layer, and Mono has built core infrastructure in this space,” he said.
Mono CEO Abdulhamid Hassan pointed to the companies’ existing relationship, which began in 2021. “We’ve seen the impact of coordinated infrastructure development. Combining Mono’s financial data and bank payment capabilities with Flutterwave’s scale allows us to build an infrastructure layer that supports the next generation of African fintech products,” he said.
As Africa’s digital economy matures, the deal signals a continued move toward interoperable, data-driven financial systems designed for long-term scalability rather than short-term payment expansion.
The transaction was advised by Nichole Yembra, Founder and Managing Partner at The Chrysalis Advisors Africa.
