Fintech unicorn Flutterwave’s evolving role in Nigeria – London Business News | Londonlovesbusiness.com

In the eight  years since Flutterwave began providing payment services for individuals and businesses, the company has forged partnerships that have made paying for travel, educational expenses, and other purchases easier — and recently announced it would be taking on a key role in Nigeria’s fight against cybercrime.

Flutterwave — one of only seven  African startups valued at $1 billion or more, known as unicorns — has experienced significant growth in the past few years. In 2022, the company debuted a new product dashboard and simpler checkout experience  after raising $250 million in funding in a Series D round.

Flutterwave’s success, however, extends beyond just its financial gains, Founder and CEO Olugbenga Agboola said in a January 2023 blog post.

“It’s also in our impact,” Agboola said.

Flutterwave and American Express recently struck a partnership that will allow Flutterwave merchants in Nigeria to accept payments from Amex cardholders.

The company also received  electronic money issuer and remittance licenses from

13 U.S. states: Arizona, Arkansas, Maryland, Michigan, Delaware, Georgia, Maine, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, Iowa, North Dakota, and South Dakota. Through these new licenses and a partnership with another licensed financial institution, Flutterwave is now positioned to serve customers in 29 states across the U.S., enabling faster, more affordable, and secure transfer of money between the United States and Africa.

Flutterwave announced  a collaboration with European payment infrastructure provider Token.io, providing bank account-to-account payment services to its customers. The company also joined forces with Audiomack, which has allowed the music-streaming and discovery platform to provide premium music experiences and fee-based features for its customers and artists via Flutterwave’s seamless and secure payment processing functionality.

In 2023, Flutterwave revised its Send App, which allows users in the U.K., U.S., Canada, Europe, and various African countries to send money to people in other African countries.

An integration with the International Air Transport Association’s  payment platform that Flutterwave announced in July 2023 has helped more than 200 international airlines process card, bank transfer, mobile money, and other payment methods, and Africans can now pay for international flights using their local currency.

Late last year, Flutterwave also said  it had acquired an international money transfer operator license in Malawi and money transmitter licenses in 13 U.S. states. This will position the company to offer faster and more affordable and secure money transfers between the U.S. and Africa.

“When I think of our journey and 2023, I reflect on the grace that we have received at different inflection points to propel, steady, and focus us,” Olugbenga Agboola said in a recent blog post. “Despite a challenging macro-economic environment that has seemingly persisted for a while, we persevered, created, failed, succeeded, learned, and we gained clarity.”

Flutterwave’s further payment service growth

Flutterwave’s expansion has continued in 2024. The company appointed a new Chairman of the Board , Dipo Fatokun , who has served in leadership and management roles in the banking services and other sectors for more than 30 years, including the apex Banking system regulator, Central Bank of Nigeria. The company also introduced new features , such as customizable templates businesses can use to create virtual storefronts.

In May , Flutterwave announced it would be providing the ability to process payments for Travelwings, an online travel agency that operates in more than 100 destinations worldwide.

In June of this year, Flutterwave announced plans, in tandem with Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, to create a state-of-the-art Cybercrime Research Center that will provide advanced financial fraud-related research and training to help law enforcement and other professionals learn how to effectively combat modern financial crimes.

The center will supply additional resources , such as advanced fraud detection and prevention technologies, participate in joint research and policy initiatives to further financial crime comprehension and regulation and create a repository of tools and other items to assist financial crime investigations.

The Cybercrime Research Center will also supply training and research opportunities for 500 young participants, equipping them with valuable digital skills.

In a statement about the collaboration, Ola Olukoyede, the executive chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, said  the organization has been impressed with the progress Flutterwave has made in its industry and the reach the company has across Africa.

“This partnership marks a significant leap forward in our efforts to combat financial crimes and ensure a secure financial landscape for Nigerians,” Olukoyede said. “The Cybercrime Research Center will significantly enhance our capabilities to prevent, detect, and prosecute financial crimes.”

Olugbenga Agboola noted that the public-private collaboration will ultimately help make business transactions more secure — enhancing both financial systems’ stability and consumers’ trust in the systems.

“As the largest payments infrastructure company in Africa, we are committed to promoting secure and safe transactions,” Agboola said. “This initiative underscores our commitment to creating a fraud-free financial ecosystem and leading the charge in safeguarding transactions across Africa. We applaud the EFCC’s relentless efforts to combat internet fraud and other illicit activities in the financial sector.”