Moni by Rank, a fast-rising Nigerian fintech startup, has announced an impressive 23% per annum return on its fixed deposit product, a strategic move to attract more local savers amid Nigeria’s high interest rate environment. The announcement follows the Central Bank of Nigeria’s decision to retain the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) at 27.5%, which has prompted a surge in demand for high-yield financial instruments.
The announcement was made in a statement signed by Femi Iromini, CEO and Co- founder of Moni. Founded in 2020, the company pioneered a unique approach to underwriting small business loans – augmenting traditional financial data with social trust from existing community structures like the rotational savings groups (ROSCA/Ajo) found within trade associations.
“We saw early on that business owners in communities and associations tend to hold each other accountable – this is key when lending to SMEs,” Iromini wrote. “In 2023 alone, we disbursed nearly ₦67 billion in loans to over 20,000 businesses, achieving a 96% repayment rate thanks to our partnership with some of the largest trade associations across the country.”
As Moni grew to serve more small businesses, customers wanted a savings product that reduced the interest rates applied to their loans while also giving them competitive returns. This led to the launch of Reserve, a fixed deposit offering tailored to the savings needs of small business owners.
“We’re always looking for ways to reduce the interest burden on our customers,” Iromini added. “Our savings product gave us deeper insights into their financial behaviour, which helped us offer them significantly better rates on their loans.”
With AUM growing rapidly, Moni saw an opportunity to open the product to retail customers. “As the product gained traction, it became clear that we could offer the same value to retail customers.” Iromini wrote.
Despite the attractive returns, Moni emphasises that capital preservation is always priority. “For us, return of capital is more important than return on capital. We operate with the most rigorous financial processes to ensure our customers’ funds remain safe.”
In addition to its financial products, Moni promotes financial education through webinars like Love and Money designed to help couples manage their finances. New sessions are available at events.moni.africa.
