E-Financial
Moniepoint Secures US$110m Funding to Scale Digital Payments and Banking Solutions
Moniepoint Inc, africa’s fastest-growing financial institution has successfully raised US$110 million in equity financing, to power the dreams of millions of businesses and their customers across Africa and the diaspora.
Moniepoint’s exceptional contributions to Nigeria’s financial services sector has been widely acknowledged alongside an enviable track record of serving customers across Africa.
Founded in 2015 by Tosin Eniolorunda and Felix Ike, Moniepoint (formerly known as TeamApt) which initially focused on providing infrastructure and payment solutions for banks and financial institutions, has grown into Nigeria’s leading business banking provider, trusted by millions of businesses.
Each month, Moniepoint processes over 800 million transactions, with a monthly total value exceeding US$17 billion—all while operating profitably.
The Series C investment was led by Development Partners International’s African Development Partners (ADP) III fund – a premier fund focused on Africa. Other new investors include Google’s Africa Investment Fund and Verod Capital – a leading African private equity firm. Global impact firm, Lightrock, an existing investor, also participated in the funding round.
The capital raised will be used to accelerate Moniepoint’s growth across Africa, building an all-in-one, seamlessly integrated platform for African businesses of all sizes.
This platform will include services such as digital payments, banking, foreign exchange (FX), credit, and business management tools, making it a one-stop shop for business solutions.
Moniepoint’s financial inclusion efforts support initiatives by many African governments to widen access to the formal financial system and drive economic growth – a vital necessity given c. 83% of employment across Africa is in the informal economy.
Moniepoint’s positive impact towards financial inclusion was recognised by the Central Bank of Nigeria in 2022, when it received the National Inclusive Payment Initiative Award.
Tosin Eniolorunda, Founder and Group CEO of Moniepoint Inc., said: “Our mission is to help our customers solve their challenges by making our platform more innovative, transparent, and secure.
“The proceeds from this raise will speed up our efforts to drive financial inclusion and support Africa’s entrepreneurial potential.
“I want to sincerely thank the entire Moniepoint team for making this achievement possible.
“We’ve been encouraged by the diversity and huge swathe of those who have found value in our platform and the services we provide in helping to create financial happiness. But, we’re just getting started, as it is just day one from here.”
In this latest capital raise – DPI, Google’s Africa Investment Fund, and Verod join existing blue-chip investors in Moniepoint such as QED Investors, Novastar Ventures, Lightrock, British International Investment, Global Ventures, Endeavour Catalyst, and New Voices Fund.
Speaking to the rationale for their investment, Adefolarin Ogunsanya, Partner at Development Partners International, noted that “we are delighted to lead this investment round in Moniepoint, one of Africa’s most exciting and fastest growing companies.
“A profitable business led by an excellent leadership team with clear strategic vision, Moniepoint is well positioned to continue its impressive growth trajectory while driving financial inclusion for underserved businesses and individuals across Africa.
“DPI has a long-track record of supporting businesses like Moniepoint to achieve their next stage of scale.
“The company’s combination of innovative technology, fast growth, and positive impact on the continent underpins our conviction in its future success.
“We look forward to working closely with Tosin and his talented team to expand Moniepoint’s customer base by providing businesses and individuals with first-class banking and payments services.”
The investment conviction from DPI, Google’s Africa Investment Fund, Verod and Lightrock is testament to the impact Moniepoint is having through digital and financial inclusion and its game changing ability to foster economic activity and development.
As, Africa’s all-in-one financial ecosystem, helping 10 million businesses and individuals access seamless payments, banking, credit, and business management tools, Moniepoint through its subsidiaries is Nigeria’s largest merchant acquirer, currently processing the majority of the Point of Sales (POS) transactions in Nigeria through its subsidiaries with $17 billion in monthly TPV.
In August 2023, Moniepoint entered the personal banking market and has experienced 2,000% growth in personal finance customers over the past year while growing its revenue at over 150% CAGR in recent years with industry leading gross profit and EBITDA margins.
It will be recalled that for the third year in a row, Moniepoint Inc, was recently listed in the seventh edition of the annual CB Insights’ Fintech 100 List as one of the 100 most promising private fintech companies of 2024. CB Insights is regarded by top industry analysts as the most trusted source for technology market insights.
E-Financial
UBA Banks on Technology to Spur Growth in Africa
United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, Africa’s Global Bank, has once again reiterated its unwavering commitment to increase its investment in cutting edge technology and training to support the growth of Small and Medium scale Enterprises (SMEs) in Nigeria and across Africa, which will in turn help them contribute meaningfully to their economies and the continent as a whole.
The bank gave this pledge during the 38th Lagos International Trade Fair, at Tafawa Balewa Square, in Lagos.
Shamsideen Fashola, group head, Retail and Digital Banking, UBA, who addressed participants at the event, said: “The banks investment in cutting edge technology are currently yielding tangible business value, and this high level commitment has proven to be instrumental in delivering enhanced customer experiences and optimising operational efficiency, all of which continues to yield positive outcomes from all areas of our business.”
This feat, Fashola noted, continued to engender their growth and success stories, as well as reinforce the bank’s passion and commitment to support SMEs at every step of their journey.
According to him, “it is for this reason that we are constantly evolving, with innovation and are very intentional in our investment in cutting edge technology, dedicated to putting the power to succeed in the hands of our customers as it concerns our wide range of products”.
“To this end, it is safe to say, we are relentless in advancing the growth of SMEs, and that is why we want to further equip them with what they need to achieve even more, by introducing the UBA SME Card—a bespoke financial solution designed specifically for SMEs.
“This card is primely dedicated to empowering business owners by providing seamless access to financing, efficient expense management, and exclusive benefits tailored to help streamline operations. With the UBA SME Card, we aim to equip our entrepreneurs with the necessary tools to thrive in an increasingly competitive landscape.”
Fashola also emphasised UBA’s impressive footprint across over 20 African nations and its strategic partnership with the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
With our presence in 20 African countries, where we have consistently driven rapid growth for the continent, UBA is dedicated to fostering intra-African trade, as seen in our partnership with AfCFTA, recognizing its critical importance for sustainable economic growth on the continent,” he said.
“By facilitating crossborder trade and investment, we are not only helping businesses expand their reach but also contributing to the overall economic integration of Africa,” Fashola explained.
Babatunde Ajayi, head of SME Banking,UBA, also underscored the critical need for comprehensive SME support, highlighting UBA’s strategic approach to providing enhanced capital access and targeted financing solutions that address financing disparities for small businesses, as well as women and youth entrepreneurs.
E-Financial
Cybersecurity Expert Raises Alarm, Warns against Use ATM Card PIN for Online Transactions
Dr. Kingsley Chibuzor Aguoru, a Nigerian-British Chartered Engineer and Doctor of Information Security, has petitioned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to immediately put a halt to card PIN usage for online payments to protect Nigerians from being fleeced of their hard earned money.
He said he was making the passionate appeal in order to secure financial practices in the country.
According to the UK based chartered Engineer, with his over 20 years of experience in financial technologies and security, who pioneered the concept of OTPs for card-not-payments, he was compelled to bring attention to the critical flaws in the Nigeria’s current online card payment practices, which exposes customers to unnecessary risks and significant danger.
Specifically, according to Aguoru, the continued use of PIN in online transactions put Nigerians at a grave risk of being defrauded.
Aguoru noted that card PINs were designed for face-to-face transactions at ATMs and POS terminals where secure encryption methods protect users rather than online usage.
In the petition cited by this paper, titled: “Urgent Call to Ban Card PIN Usage for Online Payments in Nigeria”, Dr. Aguoru explained: “In 2005, I developed a solution to tackle prevalent fraud in card-not-present transactions in the United Kingdom using both online and offline OTP models, drawing on Cartesian geometry. Although major networks like Visa and Mastercard declined the innovation at the time, my OTP model has since become a standard worldwide for authorization.
”Nigerian payment providers, such as Paystack and Flutterwave, and Interswitch still require card PINs for online card transactions, a practice virtually obsolete elsewhere or not ever used. Card PINs are designed for face-to-face transactions at ATMs and POS terminals, where secure encryption methods protect users. Using them online exposes consumers to serious cyber risks, including phishing, keylogger, man-in-the-middle attacks, even some dubious staff at the payment provider company can misuse customer’s PIN captured on the internet.”
He continued: “Nigerians are already familiar with OTPs for securing online transactions. However, it is critical to understand that OTPs should never be combined with Card PINs in an online setting. Instead, global best practices require using OTPs or Multi-Factor Authentication alone for online payments, which adds a secure layer of protection, an alternative to using card PINs online is to issue hardware card readers. With these devices, customers would simply insert their card, enter their PIN directly on the reader, and receive a generated OTP, keeping the entire process offline and secure.”
Enumerating the role of CBN in financial matters in the present digital age, Dr. Aguoru called on the apex financial regulator to protect consumers from cyber vulnerabilities. “I respectfully call on the CBN to address these issues head-on by prohibiting web PIN entry for card payments and enforcing OTP or MFA requirements across all payment providers.”
He advised the CBN to urgently steps forward for the safety of Nigerian cardholders by banning the use of card pins for online transactions and mandate the use of OTPs or other dynamic authentication methods, such as authorization through mobile banking apps.
He noted that there was need for consumers to be educated on safe online payments practice to minimize exposure to phishing and other cyber threats.
He said it was also necessary for the apex bank to enforce industry wide compliance with modern security standards to protect Nigerian customers, especially on the web, through policies, such as security, payments compliance policies.
Aguoru emphasized that by adopting these measures, the CBN will greatly reduce the risks Nigerian consumers face and bring the nation’s payment systems in with international best practice.
E-Financial
MoneyMaster PSB Customers to Enjoy 10% Data Bonus Per Recharge
Customers of foremost payment service bank, MoneyMaster Payment Service Bank (MMPSB), will henceforth, enjoy a 10 percent data bonus offer on every recharge above N1,000 on their Glo lines.
The data bundle offers one of the highest volumes in the country and the data purchases come with 30-day validity, with an automatic rollover of unused data upon subscription for a new plan.
The offer, which is meant to reward loyal customers and new ones, also underscores the bank’s dedication to empowering Nigerians to master their money via efficient offers that make every naira count.
The 10 percent bonus offer is available for Glo customers on banking channels including the MoneyMaster PSB app, USSD banking code *995# and MoneyMaster PSB Web banking.
MoneyMaster is a provider of innovative digital financial products and services that transform lives. It has the mission to deepen financial inclusion and has been pivotal in providing financial technology services to bridge the gaps between the banked, underbanked and unbanked population.
Mr. Julius Arhebun, head of Agency Banking at MoneyMaster, said, the offer shows the bank’s commitment to offering its customers products that enhance their lifestyle and help them master their money.
“With this offer, our existing and new customers can enjoy extended access to quality internet services whether it is streaming their favourite content, browsing top sites, or catching up on trends on their favourite social media apps”, he noted.
He further explained that existing customers can buy a data bundle of N1000 or above from their mobile wallets, savings account or individual current account via our USSD banking code *995#, mobile app or web banking. For new customers, the offer comes via opening accounts via the USSD banking platform or downloading the mobile application.
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