Moniepoint and PayDay have denied reports of a planned acquisition.
Days after TechCity reported that PayDay, Rwanda based neobank raised $3million in an oversubscribed seed funding round led by Moniepoint, a handful of publications reported that the Nigerian business bank was set to acquire the startup.
WeeTracker, an African tech publication reported that Moniepoint was set to acquire PayDay for $40 million.
The report also claimed that the two companies were in negotiations that would lead to Moniepoint acquiring PayDay in three months.
Investors close to the deal have however denied the reports, clarifying that Moniepoint’s investment in PayDay was only an investment.
According to TechCabal, Moniepoint stated that their investments in PayDay represented a “strategic investment” and not acquisition and PayDay representatives said the same.
Despite the acquisition allegations being denied by both companies, some sources maintain that the deal is still on the table and will probably go through in 3 months as an agreement in principle has been reached.
With PayDay currently processing an average of 40,000 transactions daily and over $25million monthly, the neobank has by its numbers proven to be an undeniably great option for Africans who need to receive money from abroad.
The numbers also indicate that PayDay has gathered a significant share in the remittance market.
Away from the denials though, this acquisition deal, if (re)considered, will be a clever business move by Moniepoint who is on its way to achieving Unicorn status.
Acquiring a fast rising and promising startup like PayDay with its present customer base and the volume of transactions it processes, will surely help accelerate its journey, to achieving its unicorn status goal.
Moniepoint has the largest agency banking network in Nigeria, and processed a total payment value of $170 billion last year. PayDay is reported to have turned down a $15million acquisition offer from an African unicorn not too long ago.