MICROFINANCE BANKS HAVE TAKEN OVER THE BANKING INDUSTRY (MONIEPOINT AND OPAY)

Nigerian fintech companies Moniepoint (Africa’s second-fastest-growing company in 2023) and OPAY have  been making waves in the financial industry since they entered the consumer banking arena to challenge PalmPay.monie point and OPAY have risen to become reliable choices for Nigerians. Although both operate in the fintech space, providing financial services to consumers, they have different features that have helped them stand out among the many fintech platforms currently in the country.

Although some of their service offerings are comparable, these two financial platforms are distinct. But if there is one thing that research, reviews from their users and observations have indicated, both platforms are making Nigerians and Nigerian businesses happy with their efficient services. By December 5, 2023,the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) Plc ordered Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) to remove Flutterwave, Paystack,and all financial institutions not licenced to hold customers’ funds from funds transfer channel.

However, moniepoint and opay survived as they were authorized by the central bank to receive inflows from customers and are allowed to offer such service. This cleared the doubt that some people had about money point and opay not licenced .

OPay has positioned itself as a leading force in financial technology. The company is licensed and regulated by the Central Bank of Nigeria and insured by the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation. Moniepoint is also a CBN-licensed microfinance bank delivering financial services digitally.

MONIEPOINT

Moniepoint, the mobile money platform launched in 2019  by Nigerian fintech startup TeamApt, has become the largest non-bank mobile money service in the country, processing billions worth transactions monthly. Moneypoint was considered the king of online banking this can be attributed to the increase I number of businesses that associates with moniepoint.

Since 2019, Moniepoint’s technology has powered over 600,000 businesses, offering all the payment, banking, credit and business management tools they need to succeed. The company claims to be processing the majority of the POS transactions in Nigeria, with over $170 billion in annualized Total Payments Volume (TPV), and more than doubled its annual revenues in 2022. The platform also launched a credit offering in 2022, which has already disbursed over $1.4 billion in working capital loans.

The popular banking system you hear in every street of the market Is money point.Merchants on Moneypoint rose to 1.3 million in the second half of 2023, contributing to about 80 percent of the PoS businesses on the platform.it is no doubt that one of the unique features of mpnie point that draws businesses is swift access to business loan. Moniepoint took the bold step in 2023 and became the headline sponsor of a popular reality show; Big brother Naija All star, you might be wondering why small tech companies are spending millions of dollars on sponsorship of global shows like Big Brother Naija reality show. This is because they are playing for global audience, global attention, and both brand and product awareness.

Small Business Loans

Moneypoint offers small business owners the opportunity to access unsecured loans of up to N90M. These loans come with capped interest rates of 10% per annum, ensuring affordability for borrowers.

Moreover, Moneypoint provides quick approval processes, typically within three days or less, allowing entrepreneurs to obtain the funds they need promptly. Additionally, Moneypoint offers flexible repayment tenures that can be tailored to match the individual pace and financial capabilities of the borrowers.

The Vice President of Loans at moniepoint (formerly TeamApt) Tobi shared how moniepoint became king.

“Three years after its inception, our flagship product, Moniepoint, has evolved into a full-service business bank. So far, Moniepoint has enabled 171,000 businesses to process a billion transactions worth over 26 trillion Naira.

This is the story of how we became market leaders with very little funding within two years.

We identified problems around reconciliation, support, and distribution that no one  has identified and created reliable solutions for agents”.

In 2023 alone, the company said it processed an impressive 5.2 billion transactions, averaging 433 million transactions per month.

ACHIEVEMENTS

Leading technology-driven business bank in Nigeria, Moniepoint MFB, was honored with the prestigious Rising Star Family Business Award in recognition of the giant strides made by the firm over the years and their contribution to the Nigerian economy as part of activities at the Family Business Summit.

Google Cloud partnered with Moniepoint in June 2023 to provide financial services to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in suburban areas, bridging the banking gap.

OPAY

 In 2023, OPay gained significant milestones gaining dominance and relevance in the financial industry evident with the exponential growth of its customer base, people empowerment with the Agent and Merchant networks, provided affordable financial services through our robust technology payment platform.  the first quarter of 2023, Nigeria faced a cash crunch that sent merchants and consumers scrambling for alternatives. With its instantly recognisable name and famous mint green POS machines, OPay emerged as a top choice – and quickly stepped in to fill the gap left by Nigeria’s Central Bank.

40 million registered app users later, 500,000 agents, and a $2 billion valuation, OPay’s strategic decisions and deep understanding of the Nigerian market fueled its rapid growth.

The company has officially rebranded and unveiled a new logo to mark its 5-year anniversary in the Nigerian market. This change not only symbolizes its significant growth and impact over the years but also represents its promise into a new era with enhanced services, technological advancements, and the aim to solidify its position as the most reliable financial platform in Nigeria.

OPay Nigeria was founded in 2018 and has grown tremendously to become a household name for Nigerians with over 40 million users, 500,000 agents, and 300,000 merchants who trust and use OPay for everyday payments and collections. 

The CEO, Mr. Gotring Dauda, while stating the plans for 2024 stated,

“Our plans for the new year 2024 is to build on our strength, which is modern technology, and continue to provide our customers with cutting-edge financial service offerings as we align with our core value principles of “customer first” and “excellence in innovation”, vision and mission of the organization.”

In addition to innovative products and services, other points in 2024 will include;

-Innovative Customer Service

-Platform Security

-Corporate Social Responsibility

ACHIEVEMENTS

the prestigious Advertisers’ Association of Nigria crowned  OPay as the winner of the Consumer Choice Award for Best Fintech in 2023 by  the year 2023, OPay was recognized by various independent organizations for its outstanding financial service offerings to its customers as a result of its modern, robust technology, a few of which includes:

-September 2023, CNBC and Statista global ranking as the “Sole” Nigerian Digital Platform.

-November 2023, Digital Nigeria 2023 Awards organized by NITDA for “Innovation Solutions”, Customer Satisfaction”, Social Impact and Market Penetration”.

CONCLUSION

The target for the fintech companies is mostly small businesses. Small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) remain largely untapped by traditional financial institutions because of the risks they represent to the companies. Many small businesses still struggle with access to finance which is critical in buying new equipment, pushing product and service innovations and expanding the business.

The successes of Money Point and OPay so far make them targets of traditional banks who are reeling from losing customers to these fintech companies.. These banks took the challenge and are also expanding their investments in the fintech space.

As declared by some customers;

OPay has won the online transfer with app battle while monipoint has won the pos/card transfer battle