Gone are the days when fintech was still fintech, or let me say, when fintech was easy to spot. You could easily download a banking app, create a payment wallet, or even save money using a separate savings app. Although all these are still very much possible, but you knew exactly what you were using then.
But now, fintech isn’t growing louder; it’s becoming invisible, and that is not accidental. Because, in our today's modern world, you can now order a ride, shop online, or fund a betting account, and complete the entire payment process without ever opening a “fintech app.”
That shift has a name, and it's called “Embedded Finance”. The concept is simple; financial services (such as payments, lending, savings, and wallets) are built inside non-financial apps like restaurant apps, on-demand delivery platforms, and e-commerce platforms.
For example, if you're ordering items on Jumia and you're asked to make payment, instead of logging into your bank or fintech app to complete the transfer, JumiaPay will be integrated right there—allowing you to finish the transaction seamlessly without ever leaving the platform.
JumiaPay is a digital payment solution integrated into the Jumia ecosystem. It offers various payment methods, including bank cards, mobile money, wallets, and bank transfers, allowing customers to make payments seamlessly.
In that sense, JumiaPay embeds all these payment methods directly into Jumia, enabling customers to complete transactions using their preferred option without leaving the app interface. That’s an example of real-time embedded finance.
From FaaP to FaaI
The transition from Fintech as a Product to Fintech as Infrastructure is quiet, but it's deeply transformative because it's reshaping how financial services are delivered, experienced, and embedded into everyday digital interactions.
Moniepoint acquired Orda, a cloud-based restaurant management platform, and integrated it into Moniebook. Moniebook is Moniepoint's business management platform, and Moniepoint is using the Orda's acquisition to embed financial services directly into business management tools and restaurant operations.
The integration is aimed at allowing merchants to manage everything, from sales to handling of payments, inside one unified system. This shift reflects the move toward fintech as infrastructure, where financial services operate quietly in the background to power everyday business activities.
However, Moniepoint is not the only fintech company quietly transitioning. In 2025 alone, 12 major mergers and acquisitions were recorded, and many of them reflect a shift toward embedded finance. One notable example is the Chowdeck's acquisition of Mira, a point-of-sale (POS) and restaurant management technology provider.
Under the acquisition framework, Mira inventories and business (and financial) tools were added to Chowdeck’s delivery ecosystem, allowing the on-demand delivery platform to control the full stack, from order to payment, thereby deepening its relationship with its restaurant partners.
That is another example of an embedded finance. Chowdeck integrated Mira's financial services into its operational workflows so that management of orders and processing of payments can be facilitated seamlessly under one unified ecosystem.
Embedded Finance in Nigeria
Have you ever wondered why embedded finance works so well in NIgeria? Yes, arguably, it works better here than in many other markets. This is because Nigerians don't care what powers the transaction, what they care about is to get the transaction down without any form of failure.
Let me ask you this: if your logistics platform handles payments better than your fintech app, would you prefer to switch to the fintech app to complete the payment for items you ordered, or simply finish the transaction within the logistics app?
In addition to that, trust is contextual. NIgerians don't easily trust a new fintech app. But they trust a platform they already use, and a service that has worked for them repeatedly. So when finance is embedded into familiar apps, it inherits that trust—at least initially.
In fact, Nigerians value convenience over brand loyalty. While super apps are struggling in some contexts, Nigerians are increasingly comfortable with multi-purpose platforms that integrate embedded finance into their offerings, because it saves them from juggling two different apps.
The Hidden Threat to Fintech Startups
Believe it or not, the biggest competitors to fintech companies are no longer other fintechs; they are now e-commerce platforms, mobility apps, on-demand delivery platform, business management tools, and any digital service providers that facilitate collection of payments from customers.
This is because these platforms don’t need to attract users to new fintech products—they already have them. All they need to do is integrate fintech services such as payments, wallets, or even credit into their platforms as embedded finance, and they effectively become fintechs—even without calling themselves one.
Trust me, the future is here. Every app can process payments, every platform can hold balances, and every service can offer financial tools. At this point, “fintech” has stopped being a category; it has become a layer—like the internet. It’s invisible and inevitable.
However, embedded finance also has its own disadvantages. If a customer experienced a failed transaction, a delayed refund, or missing funds in their accounts, they don't blame the infrastructure, they blame the app. That means every company embedding finance is now in the trust business, and in Nigeria, where trust is hard-earned and easily lost, that’s a serious responsibility.
