Flutterwave’s Amex partnership signals shift in Africa’s fintech

When the fintech company Flutterwave announced that users could use American Express for payments, market watchers perked up.

The partnership between one of the most established credit companies in the world and Africa’s leading payments technology platform sent a strong signal that Flutterwave is making the strategic moves that could reshape the financial system on the continent for years.

Ahead of its much-anticipated (though not yet scheduled) initial public offering, the fintech firm seems to be training its sights on the kind of lofty ambitions it set out when it was founded in 2016 with the promise of connecting Africa and the world together through digital payments. Since its inception, Flutterwave has grown at an impressive rate, quickly moving into more than 30 countries across Africa as well as nations in Europe, North America, and Asia.

Now that it has partnered with American Express, the company seems poised to double down on its global ambitions. But is worldwide connectivity Flutterwave’s ultimate goal, or does the famously innovative company have something different planned?

What’s in the New Deal?

The partnership between Flutterwave and American Express will allow merchants to accept American Express cards for payments and let cardholders pay for all sorts of goods and services through the Flutterwave platform.

Although it will begin in Nigeria, Flutterwave plans to bring American Express integration into its platforms in Tanzania, Rwanda, Ghana, and Uganda in the future, creating a greater ecosystem for cardholding tourists, African travellers, and businesses in some of the continent’s biggest economies.

Olugbenga “GB” Agboola, the founder and CEO of Flutterwave, put it simply: “By offering American Express as a method of payment, Flutterwave will make the payment process faster and simpler for American Express cardholders and improve the experience for e-commerce businesses using Flutterwave, helping them to start locally and sell globally,” he said.

But it won’t just benefit cardholders. The move carries important implications for Olugbenga’s company, American Express, and global financial systems as well.

Expanding into Africa

The timing of the deal is crucial. American Express has recently expanded its offerings in Nigeria, the home base of Flutterwave. Within the past year, the company has released four new credit cards in Nigeria, which are suited to individuals, small businesses, and corporations.

The new credit cards are produced through a partnership with O3 Capital Nigeria Limited, the first nonbank card-issuing entity in Nigeria. They include Green, Gold, Platinum, and Gold Business options, each delivering competitive rates, rewards, and incentives. Together with the partnership with Flutterwave, the newly issued credit cards represent an initial foray into the company’s strategy of expanding its services on the continent of Africa, according to Briana Wilsey, vice president and general manager of Global Network Services EMEA at American Express.

“American Express continues to expand in Africa to enable greater payment choices for businesses and consumers. Through the agreement with Flutterwave, a trusted payment provider, we are giving e-commerce merchants in Nigeria the opportunity to reach American Express Card Members around the world,” Wilsey told the Daily Post Nigeria. “The collaboration is a win-win because it also increases the number of places where our card members can use their cards in Nigeria.”

The move makes some of Africa’s biggest countries much more accessible for Amex cardholders, and can perhaps jump-start a new trend of credit usage among African people, who predominantly use cash to pay for goods and services.

Flutterwave’s Global Goal

While the deal will help American Express gain access to a new, young, and increasingly digital consumer marketplace, it may help Flutterwave accomplish its long-held goal of bringing Africa and the world closer together.

“At Flutterwave, we’re always looking for ways to connect the world to Africa through payments. This is one of our initiatives to ensure that more people across the world can pay using Flutterwave in Africa. We understand the value of providing shoppers with payment methods that work for them, as well as helping businesses to expand their customer bases,” said Agboola.

“This collaboration also provides more options of where to shop and what to buy to American Express cardholders across the globe. By offering American Express as a method of payment, Flutterwave will make the payment process faster and simpler for American Express cardholders, and improve the experience for e-commerce businesses using Flutterwave, helping them to start locally and sell globally.”

Integration with American Express lays the groundwork for increased consumer adoption as Flutterwave expands its services further inside the United States. The company recently announced it had secured money transmission licenses in 49 U.S. states via its Send App service. These licenses allow the company to offer its remittance product, called Send App, to residents of America who wish to wire money to friends and family in Africa and other places around the world.

These moves, combined with the company’s presence in parts of Europe, have made Flutterwave an important part of global finance — a rare feat for a company based in Lagos, Nigeria. Its partnership with American Express lends clout to its platform, which could help build trust with new users and introduce existing customers to additional ways to pay for goods and services and borrow money.

It’s also a power move to show potential investors that Flutterwave has the ability to continue growing. With a secure foothold on the world’s youngest continent and a growing global presence thanks to its American Express partnership, Flutterwave may be showcasing its business bona fides. In just eight years, it’s gone from a Nigerian startup to a global financial force, which could tee it up for a potentially massive IPO — or at least a great way to connect Africa’s financial future to the rest of the world.