According to PYMNTS.com, African payments giant Flutterwave has acquired open banking infrastructure firm Mono. The deal, announced in a January 5 news release, is framed as a long-term play to make open banking a core pillar of alternative payments across Africa. Mono’s platform provides secure access to financial data, identity verification, and account-to-account payments. Flutterwave CEO Olugbenga “GB” Agboola stated the acquisition reflects their vision for a connected financial infrastructure where “payments, data, and trust cannot exist in silos.” Interestingly, the release also sets the stage for future expansion into open banking-enabled stablecoin use cases. Meanwhile, PYMNTS Intelligence research notes a stark contrast in the U.S., where 56% of consumers aren’t even aware open banking payment options exist.
Africa’s Pivot From Cards to Banks
Here’s the thing: this isn’t just another startup acquisition. It’s a clear signal of where Flutterwave, and arguably the broader African fintech scene, thinks the puck is going. The company straight-up said the next phase of growth will be “driven less by card rails and more by bank-based, authenticated, and locally relevant payment methods.” That’s a huge statement. For years, card networks and digital wallets have been the focus. But now, the bet is on directly tapping into the continent’s vast network of bank accounts. It’s a smarter, more granular approach. Faster onboarding, better verification, lower costs—it all makes sense if you can build the pipes. And that’s exactly what Mono spent years doing.
Winners, Losers, and the Competitive Squeeze
So who wins? Flutterwave obviously gets a massive infrastructure boost without having to build it themselves. They can now offer a more complete suite, from standard card processing to deep bank-account integrations. Businesses using Flutterwave win with more payment options and potentially smoother operations. Mono wins by getting the capital and scale of a major player while supposedly keeping its independent operation. The losers? Well, any smaller open banking API players might find it harder to compete now that a titan has this capability in-house. And honestly, it puts pressure on other large African fintechs like Interswitch and Paystack (owned by Stripe) to respond. Do they build, buy, or partner? This move just raised the stakes in the infrastructure layer.
The Stark US Awareness Problem
Now, that PYMNTS data about the U.S. is just brutal. 56% of consumers have no idea open banking payments are an option. Think about that. All this tech, all this regulatory effort with frameworks, and over half the market is completely in the dark. The report nails it: it’s “a solution waiting for a problem.” And the problem, initially, is just sheer ignorance. You can offer all the cashback and discounts you want, but if people don’t know the button exists, they’ll never click it. It creates a weird dichotomy. While Africa is aggressively integrating this tech into core payment flows, in the U.S., it’s still a niche product trying to break out. It shows that technology alone is never enough—consumer education and clever packaging are everything.
The Bigger Picture: Trust, Data, and Future Crypto
Flutterwave’s statement about payments, data, and trust not existing in silos is the real headline for me. This acquisition isn’t just about moving money. It’s about building a trusted data layer for finance across Africa. Identity verification, secure financial data access—these are the boring, essential blocks for everything else. And that mention of “open banking-enabled stablecoin use cases” is a fascinating teaser. It hints at a future where your bank account, your digital identity, and digital currency transactions are all part of one seamless, verified flow. That’s the long game. For now, though, it’s about making account-to-account payments rock-solid and ubiquitous. If they can nail that, the rest becomes possible. It’s a foundational bet, and buying Mono gives them a huge head start.
