Nigerian digital banking platform FairMoney has acquired PayForce, a merchant payment services provider catering to micro and small businesses, in a strategic move to scale its offerings and build a dominant footprint in Africa’s fast-growing digital payments space.
The cash-and-stock deal, reportedly valued between $15 million and $20 million, signals FairMoney’s commitment to reshaping access to financial services for Africa’s underserved micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). Financial advisors on the deal included Perella Weinberg Partners for FairMoney and Renaissance Capital Africa for CrowdForce, PayForce’s parent company.
Reaching the MSME Frontier
Africa is home to over 100 million MSMEs, with 42 million located in Nigeria alone. Yet just 5% of consumer payments on the continent are currently digitized—posing a significant challenge to merchants seeking seamless payment collection and working capital access.
“We’re building the financial infrastructure for Nigeria’s merchants and small businesses,” said Laurin Hainy, Co-Founder and CEO of FairMoney. “This acquisition accelerates our mission and delivers strong incentives for PayForce merchants to bank with us.”
FairMoney aims to grow PayForce’s merchant base from its current 10,000+ businesses to 100,000 across Nigeria, offering a broader ecosystem of payment acceptance, digital banking, and financial services.
What PayForce Brings to the Table
PayForce, originally developed by CrowdForce, provides merchants with point-of-sale (POS) devices and enables services such as cash-in/cash-out, fund transfers, bill payments, and virtual cards. The fintech also supports business banking, B2B payments, and financial operations tools for SMEs.
The company has served 1.9 million customers across 25 Nigerian states, boasting 25% month-on-month growth and claiming to be cash positive since 2020. PayForce charges a 0.6% commission per transaction and has built a loyal base of retail and agent partners.
As part of the acquisition, Oluwatomi Ayorinde, Co-Founder and CEO of CrowdForce, will join FairMoney as the Head of PayForce by FairMoney, leading the newly integrated merchant services unit.
New Incentives and Strategic Vision
FairMoney plans to integrate PayForce merchants into its core banking infrastructure. One key incentive includes offering up to 18% annual return on deposits to merchants who adopt FairMoney as their primary banking platform—positioning the company to attract stickier, high-frequency users.
The acquisition also supports FairMoney’s broader goal of establishing a robust financial service point network across Nigeria, providing MSMEs with access to working capital, merchant credit, and digital payment solutions.
With this acquisition, FairMoney joins a wave of African fintechs opting for acquisition-led growth strategies, using M&A to plug gaps in distribution, licensing, and infrastructure—while fast-tracking market penetration.
