Flutterwave, Africa’s largest privately held fintech company, has acquired Nigerian open-banking startup Mono in an all-stock transaction valued at between $25mn and $40mn, strengthening the group’s push into bank-based payments, data and identity infrastructure.

The deal brings together two infrastructure-focused players as Lago-based Flutterwave, which provides payment infrastructure for merchants, banks, and global companies operating across Africa, looks to deepen capabilities beyond into open banking, account-to-account transfers and identity verification across the continent.

Under the agreement, Mono will continue to operate as an independent product, with no changes to its leadership or day-to-day operations, the companies said.

Flutterwave, one of Africa’s largest payment rails, widely used for e-commerce, digital banking, and multinational payouts, said Mono’s platform provides secure access to financial data, identity verification and direct bank payments—capabilities increasingly viewed as critical as African payment ecosystems shift toward authenticated, bank-linked models.

“Payments, data and trust cannot exist in silos. Open banking provides the connective tissue,” said Flutterwave founder and chief executive Olugbenga ‘GB’ Agboola, adding that the acquisition reflects a long-term focus on security, compliance and cross-market scalability.

Mono founder and chief executive Abdulhamid Hassan said the transaction builds on a partnership between the two companies that began in 2021, combining Mono’s data and payments infrastructure with Flutterwave’s scale and international reach.

Founded in 2020 after Hassan left Paystack, Mono has expanded into Kenya and Ghana and says it has processed more than 150bn transactions and served over 7mn users, positioning it as a key infrastructure provider as Africa’s fintech sector shifts toward bank-based and data-driven payment models.

Open banking remains at an early and uneven stage across African markets, with regulatory frameworks varying widely by country. While Nigeria has taken steps toward standardisation, many markets still lack clear rules governing data sharing, consent and liability, shaping the pace of adoption.