Monnify’s N25tn surge signals new battle for control of Nigeria’s payment infrastructure
Monnify’s processing of N25 trillion in transactions in 2025 is intensifying competition for control of Nigeria’s digital payment infrastructure, as fintech players shift focus from consumer-facing apps to the underlying rails that move money across the economy.
Monnify’s processing of N25 trillion in transactions in 2025 is intensifying competition for control of Nigeria’s digital payment infrastructure, as fintech players shift focus from consumer-facing apps to the underlying rails that move money across the economy.
The payment gateway, operated by TeamApt under Moniepoint Inc., recorded the milestone volume amid rising demand for reliable transaction infrastructure in a market increasingly driven by digital commerce, mobile payments and real-time settlement expectations.
Speaking with BusinessDay, Damilare Ogunnaike, vice president of Monnify Payment Gateway, said the growth reflects a structural shift in how businesses approach payments in Nigeria.
According to him, companies are no longer only looking for platforms that enable transactions, but for infrastructure that guarantees consistency, speed and scalability under high-volume pressure.
Monnify’s N25 trillion processing volume represents a 38 percent increase from 2023, achieved during a period of macroeconomic stress marked by currency volatility, inflation and rising operational costs for businesses relying heavily on digital payments.
While many Nigerians interact with fintech brands at the consumer level, Monnify operates largely behind the scenes as the infrastructure layer powering collections, reconciliations and disbursements for thousands of businesses.
Today, the platform serves more than 100,000 merchants and is integrated with 27 Nigerian banks, positioning it as a key connector in the country’s fragmented payments ecosystem.
Its client base spans major fintech operators such as PiggyVest, Cowrywise, Bamboo, Rise and Nomba, alongside large-scale enterprises in retail distribution, logistics, mobility, education and public sector payments.
This breadth of adoption reflects a deeper competitive shift: the real battle in fintech is no longer just about customer acquisition, but about ownership of the payment rails themselves.
Monnify’s advantage lies partly in its regulatory and technical structure. Through TeamApt’s switching licence from the Central Bank of Nigeria and its Payment Solution Service Provider licence, the platform connects directly to core banking and payment networks, reducing reliance on intermediaries and improving transaction efficiency.
Ogunnaike said this direct connectivity has helped improve settlement speed and transaction success rates, especially during peak periods when payment systems are under heavy load.
One of Monnify’s early strategic moves, introducing virtual accounts in 2019, has also proven critical to its scale. At the time, virtual accounts were still emerging in Nigeria, but today they have become a standard tool for digital businesses.
The feature allows companies to assign unique account numbers to individual customers or transactions, enabling automated reconciliation and reducing manual errors in payment tracking.
Analysts note that this early infrastructure bet helped Monnify establish a strong foothold among high-volume merchants that depend on automation and accuracy.
Reliability remains a central competitive factor in Nigeria’s payments sector, where failed transactions, delayed settlements and system downtime can directly affect business revenue.
Ogunnaike said Monnify has invested heavily in infrastructure designed to withstand peak demand cycles such as month-end collections, salary payments and high-traffic commercial events. Internal performance tests, he noted, have recorded settlement times as low as three seconds on selected banking routes.
As competition intensifies, pricing has also become a strategic lever. Platforms offering lower transaction costs and higher reliability are increasingly winning enterprise clients that process large volumes of payments daily.
Beyond basic transaction processing, Monnify is now expanding into recurring payments through its direct debit solution launched in 2025.
The service allows businesses to automate collections for subscriptions, loans, utilities and education payments, shifting the model from one-off transactions to predictable revenue flows.
The timing is significant. Direct debit currently accounts for just 0.44 percent of total payment volume in Nigeria, leaving substantial room for expansion as businesses seek more structured and automated payment systems.
Recent partnerships highlight where this shift is heading. Through Baobab Renewable Energy, Monnify supports collections for distributed clean energy payments across multiple locations, while its partnership with Awabah enables automated pension contributions for informal sector workers.
These use cases suggest that the competition for Nigeria’s payment infrastructure is no longer limited to traditional banking or fintech boundaries, but is extending into energy, pensions and informal financial systems.
For years, Monnify operated largely in the background, embedded within developer ecosystems and enterprise systems rather than consumer-facing platforms. That position is now changing as recurring payments and embedded finance become more central to everyday economic activity.
The company’s recent push to refine its public identity, including a redesigned website and clearer product narrative, signals a more deliberate effort to move from invisible infrastructure to recognised financial backbone.
As Nigeria’s digital economy expands, control over payment infrastructure is becoming a strategic advantage. The scale of Monnify’s N25 trillion transaction volume suggests it is already a major player in that contest.
The question now is not only how much it processes, but how central it becomes in shaping the future of how money moves across Nigeria’s economy.
