Restoring Trust in Cards: Nigerian Fintech Company, Allawee, Aims to Reinstate Faith in Financial Cards
Allawee Revolutionises Card Payments in Nigeria's Fintech Industry
Allawee Technologies, a Nigerian fintech company, is making waves in the digital payments market by offering a cost-effective and reliable card issuance solution. This solution is designed to help fintechs reintroduce cards as a payment option, addressing challenges such as failed transactions and high costs.
Traditionally, international card schemes have charged in dollars and based their rates on transaction amounts. Mastercard, however, charges a flat rate lower than ₦10 per transaction through Allawee's platform, making it a more affordable option for local fintechs.
Allawee's customers can issue Nigerian customers who make foreign transactions with Mastercard through the Naijacard, which charges in naira. This feature helps customers avoid dollar-denominated fees on card transactions, further reducing costs.
Allawee's infrastructure also helps fintechs avoid losing money on transactions, even for small payments or ATM withdrawals. This feature is crucial, as cards remain one of the most effective channels for customers to access their funds, despite the issues that have arisen.
Allawee's partnership with Mastercard has enabled it to offer a comprehensive card-issuing solution. By coordinating with several payment switches, card processors, banks, card personalisers, and manufacturers, Allawee's solution allows fintechs to configure, issue, and manage cards in a few weeks, a significant reduction from traditional timelines.
This rapid and cost-effective solution has been instrumental in helping fintechs like Piggyvest, Nomba, and Carbon issue cards through its end-to-end card-issuing infrastructure. In February 2025, Carbon, a 13-year-old fintech that had stopped offering cards due to high costs tied to foreign cards, brought cards back after a partnership with Allawee. This partnership helped Carbon solve its two biggest problems with offering cards: persistent failed transactions and high transaction costs.
Allawee's revenue model includes a monthly fee on each active card, a 0.5% interchange fee, and a higher fee for processing foreign transactions. The company's APIs have also allowed its customers to successfully perform card transactions, leading to a 60% monthly growth rate on its platform over the past four months.
If Allawee can consistently ensure that cards issued through its platform complete transactions reliably and make money for the fintechs, it could reverse their deprioritisation of cards. Enenwali, the co-founder of Allawee, believes that if Allawee can lower costs and make cards reliable, cards can grow to become a vital part of Nigeria's digital payments market.
In a move to expand its reach, Allawee plans to expand to Francophone West Africa before the end of the year, thanks to a partnership with Mastercard. This expansion will allow more fintechs in the region to access Allawee's cost-effective and reliable card issuance solution.
[1] Sources: [Fintech Nigeria, TechCabal, BusinessDay, Nairametrics, Techpoint Africa]
- Allawee Technologies' innovation in card payments, facilitated by its partnership with Mastercard, has enabled local fintechs to offer a more affordable card issuance solution, addressing challenges such as failed transactions and high costs.
- By leveraging technology to coordinate with several payment switches, card processors, banks, card personalisers, and manufacturers, Allawee's end-to-end card-issuing infrastructure allows fintech businesses to issue, manage, and configure cards swiftly and cost-effectively.
- As a result of Allawee's solution, fintechs like Piggyvest, Nomba, and Carbon have successfully reintroduced cards as a payment option, potentially reversing the deprioritisation of cards in Nigeria's digital payments market, driven by reliable performance and cost reductions.
