When Visa invested in Nigeria’s Fintech Mony Point earlier this year, it wasn’t just a test of the newly-built unicorns – it took a bold new direction.
As part of that deal, Nigerian Fintech is best known for building one of Africa’s largest business banking platforms, suggesting plans to integrate with Visa Direct.
This strategy is now shaped by the launch of Monieworld, starting with the UK and Nigerian corridors, the first foray into financial services focused on Diaspora. However, this is not just another play on the amount of money transferred, claims founder and CEO Tosin Eniolunda. “We’re not trying to become a money transfer app,” he told TechCrunch. “We’re building the right immigration banking platform.”
It’s an ambitious move. The remittance space, particularly the corridors of the UK and Nigeria, is one of the busiest fintech industries in Africa. From Lemfi, Send, Nala to Zepz and Taptap Send, immigrants don’t have a shortage of options. With a sophisticated user experience, low prices and years of brand equity, these incumbents define the space.
For most new immigrants, choosing a transfer app is one of the earliest financial decisions they make. Often, it is through word of mouth. This means that Monieldo not only enters late, but also has to fight against hardworking existing people who are already established in their daily habits.
And while Moniepoint’s entries bring size and reliability, some observers have questioned whether the market needs another remittance platform.
Eniolorunda hopes to help new immigrants return home and maintain their family and duties while settling abroad. Though there is little differentiation in the products and pricing for the former (transfers), a quick look at Monieworld’s site shows you where it comes to offering better pricing than other platforms.
But it is not a moat in itself, but often a race to the bottom. Even Eniolorunda said, “We’re not saying we’re here for the cheapest,” the CEO said. “But we already have existing technology, processing rails and we have achieved economies of scale in many places, which means we can afford to be cheaper for our customers.”
Moniepoint has spent years building Nigerian infrastructure, from payments and cards to businesses and, more recently, retail consumer credit and compliance. The argument is that this same stack, reused for immigration, can provide more value than a standalone money transfer app.
“We offer easy-to-use, affordable products in Nigeria and we currently provide payments, credit software and debit card services to us and our customers,” Eniolorunda said. “We thought we could also offer this same set of services to the market to complete the cycle, but it’s a diaspora.”
Find the location in a crowded market
Transfers are entry points. But the long-term goal, he says, is to provide a wider range of financial tools, such as building credits. This is a vertical that took off in the US over the past few years, with digital platforms like Zolve starting with immigrants accessing financial services and crediting as a wedge rather than a remittance (Pillar is a similar company in the UK).
“When you settle in a new country, you need to build a credit history. People are trying to find their footing and find their footing in a new country, and if they can find a platform that will help them understand their scenario and build their credit, that’s great for them.
According to the World Bank, remittances from the UK exceeded £9.3 billion in 2023. This is a corridor where many players are likely to be present and can have a significant market share. However, while both are commoditized as these players compete in price and speed, Enioludanda believes that only a few will win by providing a great experience.
As Mony Point deepens the local footprint of African countries like Kenya, it plans to launch the Moniwald corridors in the UK, US or Canada diaspora, just like the next logical step. This model allows 10 years ago to fintechs to drisk Nigerian-rich operations by spreading exposure. Enyordan says he resonated with investors during his last pay raise.
Still, the challenges are realistic. Mony Point is stepping into a fiercely competitive space, and it remains unclear how much margin will be captured. Eniolorunda looks at the inevitable integration ahead of time, but bets that profitable fintechs will give it enough lift to make its infrastructure, compliance know-how and deep cultural understanding important.
“When we first started Mony Point and looked at the agency’s banking business, we felt like we were behind. But the market has grown and we are looking at it for now,” Eniolorunda recalls Mony Point’s late entry into the agency’s banking business in 2019.