E-Financial
Flutterwave, 4DX Ventures Co-invest in Francophone Africa Payments Processor CinetPay
CinetPay, a digital finance platform that enables merchants in Francophone Africa to seamlessly accept and make payments, has announced a $2.4 million seed fundraising round from 4DX Ventures and Flutterwave.
The investment will boost CinetPay’s sales and marketing efforts across nine markets in West and Central Africa.
Since its 2016 launch in Côte d’Ivoire, CinetPay has processed over 30 million transactions for 350 active merchants in nine countries, including Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal, Cameroon, Mali, Togo, Burkina Faso, Benin and Guinea.
CinetPay’s platform provides a single interface for businesses to process over 130 different payment operators, from mobile money to credit and debit cards and e-wallets, eliminating the need for merchants to spend months integrating with different systems in order to manage sales and revenues.
Used by a broad range of businesses from e-commerce platforms to digital public services, insurance companies and schools, CinetPay simplifies the process of accepting payments online or via mobile Point of Sale (PoS) devices with best in class security protocols.
By bringing Flutterwave onboard, CinetPay is building on a successful commercial partnership that has evolved since 2019, and this investment follows Flutterwave’s recent acquisition of Disha and marks the unicorn’s first direct investment in the region.
“For a first institutional investment, we couldn’t have asked for two better partners in 4DX Ventures and Flutterwave,” said Idriss Marcial Monthe, CEO & Co-Founder of CinetPay. “We’ve watched firsthand as thousands of merchants waste crucial time, even up to 6 months, getting their payment systems in order.
“Now we’ve got the resources to market and sell our optimal solution across the region and we’re excited to ensure that all businesses in our region never miss a sale again. We have selected highly strategic partners as investors and are excited about the immediate next steps we take together in terms of simplifying and improving digital payments in Francophone Africa.”
The rapid growth in a wide range of digital payments channels across the continent over the last decade has led to a disaggregated market.
Two-thirds of global mobile money transactions are driven by users in sub-Saharan Africa, with 562 million registered accounts by the end of 2020, while the number of e-commerce users on the continent is expected to double from 281 million in 2020 to 520 million by 2025.
This trend continues with public institutions as well, with more bodies now offering digital public services, such as payments for ID cards, Visas and COVID tests, and school fees, which are often paid digitally. With such a multiplicity of payments required across different verticals from a growing number of sources, CinetPay is fast building its presence in the region.
“We’ve been tracking the Francophone Africa market for some time now, and have been impressed by Cinetpay’s ambitious goal to digitize payments across the region,” said Walter Baddoo, Co-Founder and General Partner at 4DX Ventures.
“The company has demonstrated deep product knowledge with a differentiated offering and a strong brand with customers. We look forward to partnering with the Cinetpay team alongside our long-time portfolio company, Flutterwave, to help usher in the next phase of digital payments across the Francophone region.”
“We’re building the payments infrastructure for Africa, making it easier for businesses to grow and expand their customer base on the continent and worldwide,” said Olugbenga Agboola, Founder and CEO at Flutterwave.
“Having collaborated with the Cinetpay team for a number of years now, our shared vision to simplify payments on the continent further strengthens our commitments to working towards creating endless possibilities and experiences for all our customers.
“Cinetpay is well positioned for the next chapter of growth and we’re excited to work with the team to help scale the business to achieve maximum impact and value for its customers.”
Available on desktop and mobile, CinetPay is quick to set up and designed with a modular approach that integrates within a merchant website and accepts Mastercard, Visa and all major local mobile money in 9 markets from MPESA to MTN mobile money and Orange Money.
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has waived the 2025 licence renewal fee for all bureaux de change (BDC) operators.
Jonah Onojah, director of the financial policy and regulation department, announced that the waiver took immediate effect.
“This is to inform all existing bureaux de change that further to the Regulatory and Supervisory Guidelines for Bureau De Change Operations in Nigeria, 2024, and the ongoing transition to the new BDC regulatory structure, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has approved the waiver of 2025 licence renewal fee, effective immediately,” the statement reads.
“Any bureau de change that has paid for 2025 licence renewal is hereby advised to apply to the Director, Financial Policy and Regulation Department, Central Bank of Nigeria for refund to its account from which the payment emanated.
“The CBN remains committed to fostering stability, transparency, and efficiency in the foreign exchange market while ensuring that operators align with the revised regulatory framework,” the statement said.
On May 22, 2024, CBN approved new guidelines for BDC operations to improve compliance and oversight.
In the guideline, CBN said all existing BDCs are to re-apply for a new licence according to any of the tiers or licence categories of their choice.
CBN said the guidelines are part of its efforts to re-position the BDC market to play its envisioned role in the foreign exchange market in Nigeria.
PalmPay, a Mobile Money Operator and digital payment platform has reaffirmed its role as a mobile payment provider, correcting the insinuation that it is a loan App.
Chika Nwosu, Chief Executive Officer, PalmPay, speaking at a press conference in Lagos clarified that PalmPay’s core mission is to provide seamless payment solutions and financial services, not to issue loans.
This clarification became necessary against erroneous messages in some social media platforms that the PalmPay is a loan App, as well as individuals wearing PalmPay-branded clothing allegedly been involved in arresting loan defaulters, raising concerns about the company’s role in debt recovery practices.
He explained that all lending activities on its platform are conducted by third-party financial institutions leveraging its ecosystem, not PalmPay itself.
“PalmPay is not a loan App. We provide a platform for third-party financial institutions to offer their services, including loans, to our users. These institutions operate independently and comply with all regulatory requirements,” Nwosu explained.
More so, Chika Nwosu identified smartphone penetration, internet connectivity and innovative technologies as key factors that are crucial to increased access to mobile money services in Nigeria.
According to him, with smartphone penetration projected to reach 65% by 2026 as well as improved internet infrastructure, more Nigerians will be enabled to access mobile money services.
He disclosed that, with fintech companies such as PalmPay evolving through digital wallets and seamless payment gateways, accessibility to mobile money service was bound to expand soon.
He emphasized that with demand for affordability of financial services growing, more opportunities would be unlocked for PalmPay in the nearest future.
“From under 10,000 agents in 2015 to over 1.5 million agents in 2023, agent networks have become the backbone of mobile money operations in Nigeria. For this reason, we are more likely to see a sharp increase in the number of mobile money agents and merchants. Apart from that, MMOs will increasingly use artificial intelligence to improve customer experiences, such as machine learning, predictive analytics, and fraud detection,” he said.
Donald Ubeh, Head, Risk and Compliance, MLRO at PalmPay, while highlighting the impact of fintech companies such as PalmPay, explained that the coming of PalmPay has led to economic empowerment particularly for individual users and several Small and Medium Scale enterprises.
He noted that many Nigerians including bank customers have migrated their funds to PalmPay owing to convenience and accessibility it provides.
He added that mobile money operators were conceived with the aim of driving financial inclusion for the underserved and unbanked population.
According to EFInA, increasing adoption of fintech companies by Nigerians has led to increase in financial inclusion rate by 13% in 13 years.
Moneipoint has denied reports that Moniepoint MFB, its microfinance bank, was hacked and some N1.1 billion allegedly stolen.
Moniepoint, in a blog post said that the report, which began on social media was malicious and misleading and should be ignored.
According to the company, the alleged theft gained traction on social media, alleging that the company is facing operational challenges due to the hack.
“We categorically state that these claims are untrue, and we urge the public to disregard them in their entirety.
Moniepoint MFB has always maintained the highest standards for digital security and customer fund protection.
It stated that as a duly authorised and licensed financial institution, customer deposits with Moniepoint MFB are insured by Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) supervising and regulating its operations to ensure adherence to all applicable standards.
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