Nigerian fintech unicorn Moniepoint has launched Monieworld, a new remittance product designed to facilitate direct money transfers from the UK to any Nigerian bank account. With this innovative solution, UK residents can send money using funds from their Monieworld account, cards, British bank accounts, or even via Apple Pay and Google Pay.
In a live demonstration witnessed by TechCabal, the platform showcased impressive efficiency, executing a £1 transfer to a Moniepoint account in just 17 seconds, resulting in a receipt of ₦2,172—₦53 more than competing remittance platforms like Grey and ₦30 more than Lemfi.
Monieworld's revenue model is primarily based on foreign exchange (FX) conversion fees, with plans to diversify its offerings as it grows. Currently, the service is focused solely on the UK-Nigeria corridor, which saw £2.7 billion in remittances through formal channels in 2021, marking it as one of Nigeria's largest sources of remittances.
“Our objective has evolved; we’re not just creating financial happiness for Africans, but for Africans everywhere,” stated Moniepoint CEO, Tosin Eniolorunda. “Our ambition extends beyond remittances to deliver a comprehensive financial services platform tailored for the African diaspora.”
Moniepoint initially gained recognition for its blue POS devices, which are utilized by thousands of agents across Nigeria for cash dispensing. After expanding into personal and corporate banking over the past two years, Monieworld represents the company's latest venture to diversify its portfolio and build a robust financial ecosystem.
Recently, Moniepoint secured a significant boost of $120 million from notable investors, including Google and Visa, entering the remittance market with a familiar strategy of offering compelling value upfront. Currently, Monieworld boasts the highest conversion rates in the market, reminiscent of its successful approach during the agent onboarding phase when it distributed thousands of POS terminals for free.
This strategic move has proven beneficial, as Moniepoint now processes over 1 billion transactions each month, totaling $22 billion, according to the company. Alongside its competitive conversion rates, Monieworld emphasizes speed and reliability, leveraging end-to-end control over transactions.
“We are using pricing as a pull factor. Our aim is to encourage users to try our product due to its affordability and trustworthiness,” Eniolorunda explained.
Monieworld operates under a Nigerian International Money Transfer Operator (IMTO) license through Moniepoint's subsidiary, Global Wire, in partnership with its UK subsidiary and PayrNet, a licensed electronic money institution (EMI) in the UK. The company is also actively pursuing an EMI license from UK regulators, which would enhance its processing speed and reliability by keeping funds within its own ecosystem. Users must verify their residency, creditworthiness, and identity to utilize the app, and currently, only UK residents are eligible.
While Moniepoint faces competition in the agency banking space from players like OPay and PalmPay, as well as personal banking challengers like Kuda, it considers its main remittance competition to be peer-to-peer transactions, where individuals send money home through friends and family.
“Our focus is not necessarily on competing directly with Lemfi or Grey but rather on tapping into the substantial untapped market of individuals still relying on manual money transfers,” Eniolorunda noted.
Boasting a Nigerian population of over 290,000 in the UK, according to a 2021 census, Moniepoint is banking on its extensive financial services distribution experience to convert these residents into Monieworld users.
“You can have remarkable technology, but if you lack the means to reach customers on a large scale, it won’t matter,” Eniolorunda emphasized. “We have successfully navigated this at different stages—B2B, agency, and consumer. Now, our focus is on the diaspora.”
Monieworld has assembled a dedicated team of over 70 professionals across compliance, engineering, marketing, product development, and customer support, headed by Matthew Snell, a former vice president at UK-based fintech Volt.
While the current emphasis of Monieworld is on the UK-Nigeria corridor, Moniepoint has ambitious plans for future expansions into other remittance corridors. “We have a specialized team exploring new markets, consistently analyzing licensing, partnerships, and compliance structures in various countries,” Eniolorunda said. “We established Moniepoint GB as a separate entity to ensure we can scale responsibly and compliantly from inception.”
However, the path to new markets is laden with challenges, such as compliance requirements, customer acquisition, user experience localization, and liquidity management. Establishing trust, network density, and market share takes time. Until Monieworld becomes a leading provider in the UK-Nigeria remittance corridor, Moniepoint intends to pause further launches elsewhere.
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