Entering a saturated but profitable space in the UK–Nigeria money transfer corridor, Moniepoint is expanding internationally, working to solve real problems rather than building just another app promising “faster, cheaper” transfers.

For years, Moniepoint focused on digitising payments for Nigeria’s wide network of small businesses. Now, it wants to be the go-to bank for immigrants who straddle two continents.

In 2024 alone, Nigerians abroad sent home nearly $21 billion. About half of that came from the UK. That’s not small money. That’s why Moniepoint has chosen to start here.

At first glance, MonieWorld might seem like just another company among giants — Send, LemFi, NALA, Taptap Send — all fighting for attention from migrants eager to send money home. But there’s a bigger play at hand. “We’re not trying to be a remittance app,” said Tosin Eniolorunda, Moniepoint’s founder and CEO. “We’re building a proper immigrant banking platform.”

He’s not wrong to think bigger. New migrants need more than just a channel to send money back home. They need banking services that understand where they’re coming from — literally and culturally. They need help settling, saving, building credit, and navigating life in a new system that usually doesn’t see them.

There’s a challenge, of course. The market is crowded and competitive. Many of the popular apps today have strong networks and loyal users. People don’t switch financial tools on a whim — especially when word of mouth carries weight in immigrant communities. Moniepoint isn’t naïve to that.

“We’re not trying to say we’re here to be the cheapest,” Eniolorunda admits. “But because we already have an existing technology, processing rails, and have achieved economies of scale in many places, it’s a means that we can afford to be cheaper for our customers.”

So what’s different? For one, Moniepoint owns its infrastructure. It processes over a billion transactions monthly in Nigeria alone. It has the rails, the licenses, the experience. That end-to-end control is something many rivals can’t claim.

The app, MonieWorld, is already live on the App Store and Google Play. Transfers take seconds. There are no fees. Exchange rates are competitive and adjusted throughout the day. You can pay using bank transfers, cards, Apple Pay, or Google Pay.

MonieWorld is launching from London under Moniepoint GB — the company’s first real move outside Africa. But this is just the beginning. According to Eniolorunda, more corridors will follow. “The African diaspora needs a one-stop solution to better meet its financial services needs – and improve on the current fragmented market,” he said.

“Our expectation is that MonieWorld will enhance financial access for everyone involved, boosting UK-Nigeria bilateral trade and benefiting the global economy.”

The remittance business is known for razor-thin margins and fierce competition. But Moniepoint has never shied away from crowded spaces. When it entered agency banking in 2019, it was considered late. Now, it dominates. Maybe history is about to repeat itself.

As for the future? We don’t have all the details yet, but Moniepoint is hinting at credit-building tools and broader financial services for immigrants. If they pull that off — if they manage to be more than just a transfer app — they might just change the game again.

The investment, which brings the company’s total funding to $85 million, was led by Highland Europe, with contributions from existing backers Left Lane Capital, Palm Drive Capital, Y Combinator, and Endeavor Catalyst.

Founded by Ridwan Olalere and Rian Cochran in 2020, LemFi has grown fast by supporting the diaspora communities in North America and Europe, providing reliable cross-border payment services. 

The platform, known for its multi-currency accounts and low-cost transfers, facilitates remittances to over 20 countries, including Nigeria, Kenya, India, and Pakistan.

This latest funding will enable LemFi to expand its payment network, acquire additional licences, and deepen its partnerships to deliver more localised services. 

Plans are also underway to introduce a payment card for customers in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada, alongside scaling recruitment efforts for its workforce of over 300 employees.

LemFi’s monthly transaction volume has surged to $1 billion, going beyond its annual transaction volume of $2 billion in 2023. Much of this growth has been attributed to its strong adoption in Asia, where the company’s transactions in the region now amount to $160 million monthly, with a 30% month-on-month growth rate.

In recent years, LemFi has gained traction by leveraging its user-friendly interface and solid fraud prevention measures.

According to Olalere, these have allowed the platform to maintain competitive prices, ensure trust, and achieve high customer retention, with approximately 70% of its earliest users still active today.

LemFi recently partnered with Modulr, an embedded finance provider, to kickstart its European operations. To boost its presence in the region, the company has acquired a Republic of Ireland-based firm, which will provide it with independent operational capabilities beginning next month.

This expansion builds on LemFi’s strategy of entering large remittance markets. After establishing operations in the US in 2023, the platform extended its services to countries like China, India, and Pakistan in 2024.

Its ability to adapt to complex regulatory environments and integrate seamlessly with various payment systems has been key to scaling efficiently.

With over one million active users, LemFi aims to evolve into a comprehensive financial hub for immigrants globally.

The company’s mission to simplify international payments and reduce costs aligns with the needs of emerging market economies, where remittances serve as a necessary source of foreign exchange.

Led by Havaic, this new investment will support Talk360’s mission of reaching seven million users by 2025 and advancing its path toward sustainable profitability.

“We’re incredibly proud of Talk360’s growth. Over the past two years, we’ve gone from connecting 2.3 million users to 4 million in 2023. This funding will help us continue our mission of connecting African migrant communities with their families back home,” says Hans Osnabrugge, co-founder and CEO of Talk360.

Talk360 is a leading South African and Dutch calling app that enables affordable international calls, requiring only the initiator to have the app and internet connectivity to reach any number globally. 

The business has garnered strong backing from investors. In 2022, Talk360 raised $7 million through two seed funding rounds, attracting investments from African venture capitalists and fintech angels across Europe and South Africa, including executives from Adyen and Mollie, as well as the founders of Tyme Bank.

After the raises, Talk360 sought to not only expand its user base among the African diaspora in the UK, US, and South Africa but also to explore the potential of establishing the first payment aggregator designed to streamline the payment experience across the fragmented African market and solve the challenge of failed payment attempts for both merchants and consumers.

“This payment platform has been exclusively used in-house to establish a strong foundation. The results have been exceptional, with an average 25% increase in payment conversion. We are strongly considering opening the platform to external merchants before Christmas 2024,” says Hans Osnabrugge.

The recent capital injection was based on the same $30 million+ valuation the company received in 2022 and amounted to $1 million from Havaic and an additional $400,000 from other investors. It comes at a time when the global venture capital landscape faces unprecedented challenges. 

“The additional funding will enable us to deliver on our next phase of growth to reach seven million people and achieve profitability across our global operations,” states Osnabrugge.

With the additional funds in place, Talk360 plans to localise into more African languages and set up more local and global partnerships with remittance companies, retailers, and brands.

“A better understanding of our audiences will also see the upcoming releases supporting languages such as Amharic and Portuguese. This talks to the significant demand of our Ethiopian customers and highlights our willingness to localise our solution where needed,” says Dean Hiine, co-founder and MD Africa at Talk360. 

“Talk360 has built trust within underserved communities by offering a solution that resonates with their unique needs. This new funding will help the business capitalise on that trust to create even more tailored solutions that deliver value at a local level.”

Havaic’s continued support of Talk360, despite the challenging economic conditions, underscores their strong confidence in the company’s future. 

“Talk360’s ability to navigate and succeed in challenging economic conditions speaks to the strength of its business model and clear vision. We are confident this latest round of funding will empower them to deepen their impact, especially in underserved communities across Africa,” says Ian Lessem, managing partner at Havaic.