FlutterWave:  Creating Financial Accessibility With Digital Payment Solutions
Tags: technology, flutterwave
Published: 2019-09-29 09:48:09

Flutter  Wave:  
 Digital bank is the newest rave of the now, while it curbs the excesses of traditional banks, it also solves one of the biggest problems we all have a grouse with; long queues at banking halls. Therefore, there was a need to factor technology into banking to create flexibility and accessibility in a convenient way.
 
What is Flutter Wave

FlutterWave is an online platform that allows merchants to make and receive payments online.   Or we can simply say, it is an integrated online platform where payments, payouts, management of funds happen. For instance on the Flutterwave platform, customers can make payment for  any service offered, while a merchant can  receive and manage  his/her funds there too. Generally, the Flutterwave is a bank but a mobile bank without the complexities of the traditional banking; it is a digital bank that enables transactions while on the go. 

How it began? 

In 2016, Flutterwave was started.  However, the story began with a tech nerd, Iyinoluwa Aboyeji, who was a co-founder at Andela. His experience with sending money to Africa birthed the Flutter wave idea.   Apart from making payment processing in Africa easier, Flutterwave serves as a platform where one can accept payments too. Currently, Flutterwave has about 50 bank partners and have processed over $2.6bn which is about 100 million  transactions.  
In 2017, it expanded to accommodate a new product known as Rave. Their product, Rave opened businesses to more opportunities which allow them to accept a range of payments from customers globally.  
 In 2018, their customer base experienced a 550% growth.  Now, it has more than 26,000 existing customers.  They still retain their enterprise customers; Uber, Arik Air, Booking.com and Flywire, while welcoming new customers were DusuPay(Uganda), BroadPay (Zambia) and PennySmart (Ghana). The barter by Flutterwave has over 30,000 customers on its platform.  In the same year (2018), they bagged a ‘best payment company’ award at Ghana ecommerce Awards ceremony. 
  With a presence in 38 African countries, and over 68 payment getaways including mobile money, it is trying to solve the problems associated with sending money to Africa. 
 
Products: 

 Rave by Flutterwave

Rave by Flutterwave is a payment getway permitting multiple users to receive payments with zero charges.   Rave was created to make it easier for businesses to accept payment through a range of channels from their customers around the world.  The channels which Rave make payments possible are; mobile money, credit and debit cards, cash tokens, USD, and ACH.  Therefore, users can pay with a debit card, receive mobile money, or use a USD code. 


Rave is customer-oriented; it is tailored in a way where merchants can understand their customers’ transaction habits when using your product.  There is a fraud system that automatically detects any suspicious transactions, and ensures safe payments.  Payment is also supported in multiple currencies; euro, British pound, Naira, US dollars. 
 
Barter by Flutterwave 

Barter is a finance management app by Flutterwave. It was designed to help users aggregate their funds on a platform; spend, send and borrow.   


What you can do with Barter? 
•	Users can send money to their friends nearest to them.  It is a peer-to-peer payment platform with a near me feature which locates your friends nearby, who you could send or ask for money from. 
•	It enables you to schedule your expenses, whether it is payment for data, airtime, or TV subscription. 
•	There are smart reminders too that send you notifications whenever your subscriptions on your Netflix expires. 
•	You can also manage your funds on the app too if you are saving for a project, or small business.  

Partnerships 

Aside from having a wide vision to conquer the online payment sphere in Africa, Flutterwave has a global view too.  To accelerate their core businesses, partnerships are a vital part of it growth 

The Alipay Partnership
 
The integration between Flutterwave and Alipay, will capture payments activity around an estimated $200 billion in China-Africa Trade.  Alipay have been added as options as to cards, Barter, Mobile Money and other payment channel on the rave checkout modal. 

Flywire Partnership
This partnership is targeted at Nigerian students, patients and businesses to be able to make payments for their foreign school fees and medical bills in Naira. 

Shopify Partnership
By integrating Shopify on Flutterwave, businesses can scale their businesses globally with Rave. Selling online and shopping on shopify store