Mastercard has joined forces with Mono Technologies Nigeria Limited to introduce cutting-edge account-to-account (A2A) payments and a comprehensive suite of open banking products, leveraging the advanced capabilities of Mastercard Gateway.
This strategic collaboration will harness Mono’s expertise in open banking alongside Mastercard Gateway’s state-of-the-art payment technology to deliver a secure and seamless A2A payment solution for businesses in the region. By addressing evolving consumer needs and enhancing the overall payment experience, this initiative sets a new standard in the Eastern Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EEMEA) region.
The partnership marks a significant milestone in Mastercard’s Alternate Payment Methods (APM) strategy in Nigeria and underscores the company’s commitment to establishing Mastercard Gateway as a multi-rail gateway for seamless transactions.
Through this collaboration, both entities aim to cultivate an ecosystem that fosters financial inclusion, stimulates innovation, and drives growth in the region’s digital economy. The array of customers benefiting from this technology spans across merchants, fintechs, telcos, governments, and financial institutions, offering instant access to account-to-account capabilities and elevating the payment experience for individuals and businesses alike.
Folasade Femi-Lawal, Country Manager and Area Business Head, West Africa, at Mastercard, emphasized the strategic importance of this collaboration, stating, “Embedding Mono’s open banking solution within Mastercard Gateway is a crucial step in our strategic vision to enrich and expand payment methods available to our customers. This collaboration underscores Mastercard’s commitment to driving innovation and advancing financial inclusion in Nigeria and beyond.”
Mono, an Open Banking infrastructure company founded in 2020 by Abdulhamid Hassan and Prakhar Singh, aims to revolutionize the payment landscape by enabling businesses to collect direct bank payments and securely access customer financial data with user permission.
Abdul Hassan, CEO and co-founder of Mono, expressed enthusiasm about the collaboration, stating, “This partnership with Mastercard strengthens our efforts and expands our influence in Nigeria and the African region, allowing us to provide more innovative Open Banking payment solutions.”
Furthermore, this collaboration builds upon Mastercard’s commitment to capacity building for Mono. In 2022, Mono became the first Nigerian Open Banking company to join the inaugural Mastercard Open Banking Start Path Program, leveraging Mastercard’s expertise and network to deliver and scale its solutions.
As both entities converge on their missions to power Africa’s internet economy and drive the future of financial services, this collaboration heralds a new era of innovation and progress in the payments landscape across Nigeria and the African region.
