Moniepoint is phasing out MonieWorld, its United Kingdom remittance product. The shutdown comes less than two years after launch. It marks a swift retreat from Moniepoint’s first major expansion outside Africa.
SEE ALSO:How Testing the Market Helped Jacqueline, An Entrepreneur Build a Six Figure AI Consulting Firm
The company launched MonieWorld in April 2025. It operated through its UK subsidiary, Moniepoint GB. The product let UK users send money straight to Nigerian bank accounts. Customers could fund transfers through a MonieWorld account, British bank cards, Apple Pay, or Google Pay. At launch, Moniepoint waived transfer fees. It also promised fast, low-cost transactions to compete with rivals like Grey and LemFi.
Moniepoint said the decision followed a review of its business portfolio. As a result, the company will redirect capital, technology, and staff toward its core African markets. Nigeria and Kenya now sit at the center of that strategy. In 2025, Moniepoint processed $294 billion in annualised transactions in Nigeria alone. It also acquired a majority stake in Kenya’s Sumac Microfinance Bank in May. That deal gave the company a strong foothold in East Africa.
Building MonieWorld was not cheap. Moniepoint spent £1.2 million on setup costs. That covered administration, tech infrastructure, and compliance staffing needed to operate in the UK’s regulated market. The company also paid $2.5 million to acquire Bancom Europe, an FCA-licensed Electronic Money Institution, in July 2025. This acquisition gave Moniepoint the regulatory license to run remittance services in the UK.
Still, MonieWorld showed early promise. Monthly transaction volumes among UK diaspora users rose by 70 percent before the wind-down decision, Moniepoint said. However, the company did not disclose total transaction value or customer numbers.
Most MonieWorld staff will move into other roles within Moniepoint. So far, the company has not announced a final shutdown date. But it says affected employees have already been informed and supported through the transition. Customers, meanwhile, will receive updates on outstanding transactions, fund access, and the closure timeline in the coming weeks.
Even so, Moniepoint insists this is not a full retreat from international growth. Instead, the company plans to focus on markets and products that strengthen African businesses. Many industry watchers say the closure shows just how competitive the UK-Africa remittance corridor has become. It also shows that even well-funded fintechs will cut losses quickly when returns look stronger elsewhere.
For now, Moniepoint’s diaspora ambitions take a back seat. The company’s next chapter, it says, will focus on deepening its presence in Nigeria and Kenya rather than chasing new markets abroad.