In a watershed moment for Africa’s financial integration, Flutterwave, the continent’s leading payments technology company, has secured full regulatory licenses to operate in Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal, Cameroon, and the Democratic Republic of Congo—effectively unlocking access to over 300 million consumers in Francophone West and Central Africa. The approvals, formally issued by the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO) and the Bank of Central African States (BEAC) in early November 2025, mark the completion of Flutterwave’s decade-long mission to build a truly pan-African payments infrastructure.
Unlike previous limited partnerships or agent-based models, this rollout grants Flutterwave direct acquiring and issuing capabilities in local currencies—specifically the West African CFA franc (XOF) and Central African CFA franc (XAF). This allows the company to offer end-to-end payment solutions, including merchant acquiring, payout networks, embedded finance, and cross-border settlement, all compliant with regional monetary policies.
A cornerstone of the expansion is deep integration with mobile money giants such as Orange Money, MTN Mobile Money, and Moov Africa, which collectively serve over 250 million users. Through APIs, Flutterwave can now route payments directly into these wallets, enabling instant, low-cost transactions for gig workers, SMEs, and e-commerce platforms. The company has also localized its fraud detection and compliance systems to meet BCEAO’s stringent anti-money laundering (AML) requirements.
“This is the final puzzle piece,” said Olugbenga Agboola, Flutterwave’s CEO and co-founder. “For years, entrepreneurs in Abidjan or Kinshasa couldn’t accept digital payments as seamlessly as those in Lagos or Nairobi. Today, that changes. We’re not just connecting countries—we’re connecting economies.”
The business implications are massive. Francophone Africa represents 40% of Africa’s GDP but has lagged in digital payment adoption due to regulatory fragmentation and language barriers. Flutterwave’s move paves the way for AfCFTA-driven e-commerce, allowing a fashion brand in Dakar to sell to customers in Kampala using a single payment stack.
The company plans to onboard 2 million new merchants by the end of 2026 and has already partnered with Jumia, Konga, and regional agri-cooperatives to deploy its “Pay by Mobile Money” button across thousands of online storefronts.
Analysts at Disrupt Africa note this could trigger consolidation in the fintech space, as smaller players seek partnerships or acquisitions. Meanwhile, regulators see it as validation of Africa’s growing capacity for harmonized digital finance policy.
Follow us on Instagram.
https://www.instagram.com/businessnewsng?igsh=ZXpweTdjOGF1ZXdu
