When Visa Investigated in Nigerian Fintech MoniePoint Earlier this year, it didn’t just validate the newly minted unicorn – it signaled a bold new direction.
As part of that deal, The Nigerian Fintech Best Known For Building One of Africa’s Larget Business Banking Platforms, Hinted at Plans to Integrate with VITH VITH DIRECT, A Moves that Would have integrated international Payment Rails for Remittans and Cross-Border Services.
That strategy is now taking shape with the launch of MonieweorldStarting with the UK-Nigeria Corridor, its first forward Into DiasPora-Focused Financial Services. But this isn’t just another play for remittance volume, Insists Founder and Ceo Tosin Eniolorunda. “We’re not trying to be a remittance app,” He Told Techcrunch. “We’re building a proper immigrant banking platform.”
It’s an ambyitious move. The Remittance space, especially the uk -nigeria corridor, is one of the most crowded fintech verticals in Africa. Form LemfiSend and Nala To zepz and taptap send, migrants have no shortage of options. With Sleek User Experiences, Low Fees, and Years of Brand Equity, those incumbents have defined the space.
For most new immigrants, choosing a Remittance app is one of the earliest financial decisions they makes – often thought word of mouth. That means monitorld is not only entering late but will have to conte with unseating incumbents alredy Entrenched in Daily Habits.
And While MoniePoint’s Entry Brings Scale and Credibility, Some Observers Question Wheether The Market Needs Another Remittance Platform.
Eniolorunda says Moneevorld Wants to Help New Immigrants Stay Connected to Family and Obligations Back Home While Settling Abroad. While there’s little to no difference in product or pricing Regarding the FORMER (Remittans), One Quick Look at Monivorld’s Site Will Show Positioning Around Providing Platforms.
But that in its itself isn’t and is often a race to the bottom. Even eniolorunda agrees: “We’re not trying to say we’re here to be the cheapest,” said the Ceo. “But because we alredy have an existing technology, processing Rails, and have achieved economies of scale in many places, it’s aford to be cheaper for our customers.”
MoniePoint has Spent Years Building Infrastructure in Nigeria, From Payments and Cards to Credit and Compliance for Businesses and, More recent, retail consumers. Its argument is that this same stack, repurposed for immigrants, can deliver more value than standalone remittance apps.
“We’ve Provided Easy-to-Use, Affordable Products in Nigeria, where we now offer payment, credit software, and debit and debit and credit card services for our businesses and consures,” Eniolorunda period. “We Figured that to complete the cycle, we can also offer this same set of services to our market but in the diasport.”
Finding its place in a crowded market
Remittans are the entry point. However, the long-term goal, he says, is to offer a broader suite of financial tools like building credit. It’s a vertical that has taken off in the us over the past couple of years, where digital platforms like zolve Help Immigrants Access Financial Services, Starting with Credit as the Wedge, Not Remittans (Pillar is a similar company in the uk).
“When you settel into a new country, you need to build a creedit history. People are trying to figure out and find their footing in new countries, and if they can find a platform that kinds the kinds their Scenario and helps build credit, it’s going to be great for them, “said the Chief Executive While Remaining Tight-Lipped on Other Features that Monivorld Could Offer.
Remittance outflows from the uk Topped £ 9.3 billion in 2023. Nigerians Abroad Sent Home Over $ 20 billionAccording to the world bank. It’s a corridor where many players can presumubly exist and have considerable market share. However, with these players competing on pricing or speed – bot nowcomoditized – eniolorunda believes only a few will be winners by providing a superirs by providing a superirs by providing.
As MoniePoint Deepens Its Local Footprint in African Countries like Kenya, It Plans to Launch Moneevorld Corridors for that DiasPoras in the UK, Us, Oor Canada, As is the Next Logist Stop. This model will allow the decade-old fintech to derisk its nigeria-havy operations by spores by speeching out its expenses-a pitch eniolorunda says resonated with investors dogs last raise.
Still, The Challenge is Real: MoniePoint is Stepping into a Fiercely Competitive Space, and it Remains Unclear How much margin is left to capture. While Eniolorunda Sees Inevitable Consolidation ahead, The Profitable Fintech is Betting that its infrastructure, compliance knowledge know-how, and Deep Cultiral Understanding will make it enough Matter.
“When we started monpoint and considered agency banking, it is felt like we We We We WERE ENTERIN LATE Into Agency Banking in 2019.