Moniepoint raids Access and Stanbic Bank for top talent as it expands its business
Moniepoint, the Nigerian fintech unicorn, has been aggressively hiring top talent from Access Bank and Stanbic IBTC since 2023, deepening its bench as it scales operations. The recent hires span compliance, risk management, sales, and product roles—functions critical to scaling financial services.
Notable hires include Michael Afolabi, former acting Chief Information Security and Data Protection Officer at Oxygen X, Access Bank’s digital lending subsidiary, and Bayo Olujobi, a former Stanbic IBTC executive now serving as CFO. According to LinkedIn, at least 19 employees have left Access Bank for Moniepoint in the past two years, with half of them joining in the last six months. Similarly, six Stanbic IBTC employees have switched in recent months, including Ikenna Ndugbu, who now leads Moniepoint’s compliance team.
Read more: https://techcabal.com/2025/02/28/moniepoint-hiring-spree/
Egypt’s fintech sector grew 5.5 times in 5 years driven by youthful population-report
Egypt’s fintech sector recorded a 5.5 times growth in the past five years. This is according to a recently released report by Entlaq, launched in collaboration with the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) and the Embassy of the Netherlands in Egypt.
This growth, fuelled by digital payments, lending, and B2B marketplaces, has positioned Egypt as a fintech powerhouse in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. While the report outlines market trends, growth opportunities, and challenges, one phenomenon stands out as particularly interesting, the role of Egypt’s youth in driving this transformation.
With a median age of just 24 and a population of over 104 million, Egypt’s young, tech-savvy generation is not only adopting fintech solutions at an unprecedented rate but also building them. Ushering in a grassroots financial revolution that could redefine the country’s economic future.
Banks settle ₦32bn out of ₦74bn USSD debt to MTN
Nigerian telecom giant, MTN Nigeria, has successfully retrieved ₦32 billion from banks as part of its outstanding debts tied to Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) services.
Although the telecom giant had retrieved this amount, approximately ₦42 billion is yet to be paid, with other telecom operators also awaiting settlements.
The total estimate for all the telcos initially stood at ₦250 billion, which was later revised to ₦212 billion — 81% of the original figure.
Read more: https://techpoint.africa/2025/02/28/banks-settle-mtn-ussd/
Here are startups driving cross-border payments in Nigeria
Nigeria’s cross-border payment landscape is rapidly evolving, driven by startups addressing the increasing demand for seamless international transactions.
According to data from the Fintech 2025+ report, cross-border payment flows are projected to reach $290 trillion by 2030. This growth is driven by the rise of international e-commerce, increased workforce mobility across borders, and innovative digital payment solutions that make sending money faster, easier, and more transparent.
Startups in Nigeria are tapping into this market to provide faster, more cost-effective, and secure payment services, thereby fostering economic growth and financial inclusion.
Fintech firm unveils software to reduce loan defaults
Nigerian fintech company, Fintrak, has unveiled its innovative credit ratings software, designed to help banks assess customer creditworthiness and reduce loan defaults.
The software, which leverages advanced data analytics and artificial intelligence, aims to enhance credit risk management and streamline the lending process across Nigeria’s banking sector.
Announcing the innovation in a press statement signed by the firm on Saturday, the Group Managing Director of Fintrak, Bimbo Abioye, described the software as a game-changer for financial institutions.
Mastercard Expands Partnerships With Emirates NBD and Checkout.com
These include a partnership with Emirates NBD, a banking group in the Middle East, North Africa and Türkiye (MENAT) region, and a partnership with Checkout.com in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Emirates NBD will integrate Mastercard Gateway within the Emirates NBD Pay platform, which will support transactions throughout the region and make the banking group the first acquiring bank globally to offer Mastercard’s Brighterion AI technology through the integration, the companies said in a Thursday (Feb. 27) press release.
“The integration of this cutting-edge platform in the bank’s systems will simplify payment processes for online merchants, allowing them to offer their customers a faster, more secure and seamless transaction experience,” Gina Petersen-Skyrme, country manager, UAE and Oman at Mastercard, said in the release.
Temu Partners With Nuvei to Expand Access to Local Payment Methods
Global online marketplace Temu has partnered with Canadian FinTech company Nuvei to provide Temu customers worldwide with greater access to local payment methods.
With this integration, Temu customers can pay using local payment methods like Konbini, au Pay and Payeasy in Japan; MBWay, Blik and P24 in Poland; Bancontact in Belgium; iDeal in the Netherlands; and MBWay and Multibanco in Portugal, the companies said in a Friday (Feb. 28) press release.
Later this year, the integration will expand to include payment options in Colombia, Chile and Canada, according to the release.
“Proving localized payment options is an important part of improving convenience for customers, and we are always looking for ways to optimize our payment processes to meet the needs of different markets,” a Temu spokesperson said in the release.
