Flutterwave Becomes a Bank in Nigeria After Securing Microfinance Licence.
African fintech giant, Flutterwave, has taken a major leap in its evolution after securing a national microfinance banking licence in Nigeria, giving it the power to hold customer deposits and issue loans directly for the first time.
The licence came after Flutterwave acquired open-banking startup, Mono, earlier this year, marking a turning point for the payments company that has spent the last decade helping businesses and consumers move money across Africa.
With the new approval, Flutterwave will no longer rely heavily on partner banks for services such as virtual accounts, card issuance, and transaction settlements. According to its Chief Executive, Olugbenga Agboola, the shift will significantly improve the company’s margins and strengthen its control over its financial infrastructure.
“About $40 billion has moved through our platform, and not a single cent was retained,” Agboola said. “Now, with this new phase, funds will remain within our system, which means stronger margins and greater value from owning our infrastructure.”
The newly licensed bank will operate as a subsidiary of Flutterwave’s Nigerian entity and will have its own leadership team and governance structure. The company has already injected additional capital to support the bank’s operations.
Flutterwave already processes payments for global companies such as Uber, Microsoft, and Netflix, giving it a strong base of business customers it can now convert into banking clients. By turning those payment relationships into full banking services, the fintech could unlock cheaper funding and expand lending opportunities.
The company also plans to use Mono’s open-banking infrastructure to improve credit scoring and loan recovery. Mono CEO, Abdulhamid Hassan, said the system can help lenders track and recover funds across all bank accounts linked to a borrower’s Bank Verification Number (BVN), reducing the risk of loan defaults.
Flutterwave is not the only fintech making this move. Competitor, Paystack, recently acquired a Nigerian microfinance bank to expand into banking services as well.
With the new licence, Flutterwave plans several changes to its products. Merchant payouts and account numbers generated through its checkout platform will run directly on its own infrastructure instead of third-party banking systems. The company also intends to issue payment cards to millions of users on its remittance platform, Send App, and to businesses using its merchant platform.
The bank will open physical branches in Lagos and Abuja, while its consumer remittance service will gradually evolve into a full digital banking product.
Flutterwave is entering a competitive space alongside fintechs such as Moniepoint, OPay, PalmPay, and PiggyVest, all of which hold banking licences in Nigeria.
Despite the competition, Agboola believes Flutterwave’s strength lies in combining payments infrastructure, international money transfer capabilities, open banking technology, and now a banking licence — all across more than 35 countries.
The move could also boost the company’s profitability ahead of a possible public listing. Agboola previously hinted that Flutterwave could reach group-level profitability by 2026 and suggested the company may even consider listing in Nigeria before pursuing an international IPO.
Looking ahead, the CEO said Flutterwave plans to obtain banking licences in other African markets and has ambitious long-term goals.
“In the next ten years, Flutterwave could either become the JP Morgan of Africa or be acquired by one,” he said, adding that the company hopes to be involved in one out of every three transactions across the continent.
