Moniepoint Inc. is reportedly shutting down MonieWorld, its UK remittance business, less than 18 months after launching the service, as the Nigerian fintech redirects resources toward its operations in Africa.
The company said the decision followed a review of its businesses and long-term priorities. Moniepoint will redeploy technology and staff from MonieWorld to other parts of the group.
MonieWorld launched in April 2025, allowing Nigerians in the UK to send money to Nigerian bank accounts using the service, UK bank cards, Apple Pay and Google Pay. It was Moniepoint’s first major push into a consumer financial-services market outside Africa.
The service recorded some early growth. Monthly transaction volumes among UK customers rose 70%, Moniepoint said. The company didn’t disclose the value of transactions processed, revenue from the business or the number of customers it acquired.
The decision brings a relatively short-lived UK expansion to an end and comes after Moniepoint invested in building the infrastructure needed to operate in the country’s regulated financial-services market.
UK Expansion
Moniepoint GB was incorporated in February 2024, ahead of the launch of MonieWorld.
The company spent about £1.2 million on administrative expenses, technology infrastructure and compliance staffing for its UK operations, according to figures disclosed by Moniepoint.
It also committed a $2.5 million equity deposit toward the acquisition of Bancom Europe Ltd., an electronic-money institution authorized by the UK Financial Conduct Authority.
The acquisition was intended to give Moniepoint additional regulatory infrastructure for its UK operations and potentially support expansion into other European markets.
Moniepoint didn’t disclose its total investment in MonieWorld or say whether the business had reached profitability.
The company said the UK operation nevertheless helped it develop and test infrastructure for cross-border payments. That technology and experience will now be used in its African businesses.
“Having validated its cross-border infrastructure and delivered value to thousands of diaspora users,” Moniepoint said it would redirect its technical, capital and operational resources toward its primary African markets.
Focus on Nigeria and Kenya
Moniepoint has continued to expand in Africa while building out its UK operation.
Nigeria remains its biggest market, where the company provides banking and payments services to businesses and merchants. Its Moniepoint Microfinance Bank serves businesses through its payments and banking products, while Monnify provides payment infrastructure for businesses and online merchants.
The company has also expanded beyond payments. It acquired restaurant technology company Orda as it builds services around the day-to-day operations of small and medium-sized businesses.
Kenya has become another important market.
Moniepoint acquired a 78% stake in Sumac Microfinance Bank, giving it a regulated financial-services platform in the country. It later appointed Rose Muturi as chief executive of its Kenyan operations.
The acquisition gives Moniepoint a base from which to expand its banking and payments products in a market where small and medium-sized businesses are already significant users of digital financial services.
The UK decision allows the company to put more resources behind those markets rather than continue spending on a relatively new operation in a competitive remittance market.
Customers and Staff
Moniepoint said MonieWorld customers will receive information about the shutdown, including details on outstanding transactions, access to funds and the timetable for the closure.
The company hasn’t announced a final date for the shutdown.
Most employees on the MonieWorld team will be moved into other roles within Moniepoint, the company said. Some positions will change as the UK operation is closed.
For Moniepoint, the move leaves Africa as the main focus of its expansion plans. Nigeria provides the company with an established customer base and operating infrastructure, while its investment in Kenya gives it a foothold in another large African financial market.
The UK exit also shows the limits of a strategy that requires fintech companies to build new regulatory and operational infrastructure before they can scale in foreign markets. Moniepoint is now choosing to put more of that investment behind businesses where it already has customers and a regulatory presence.