Nigeria’s newest tech unicorn, Moniepoint, is setting its sights on the country’s lucrative remittance market with the launch of Monieworld, a new money transfer app designed for the UK-Nigeria corridor.

Unveiled this week, Monieworld allows UK residents to send money directly to any Nigerian bank account. Transfers can be made either from a Monieworld account or by linking Apple Pay. In a live demonstration, a transaction from the UK to a Moniepoint account in Nigeria took just 17 seconds.

The exchange rate is also competitive: for every £1 sent, recipients receive ₦2,172—₦53 more than on Grey and ₦30 more than Lemfi, two leading fintech competitors.

Though Monieworld will be entering a space crowded with specialized startups like Lemfi and Raenest, as well as global remittance giants such as Wise, Moniepoint is confident in its edge. CEO Tosin Eniolorunda told TechCabal the company plans to build a new customer base from the ground up, particularly among Nigerians who currently rely on informal channels to send money home.

“Many people prefer using agents to avoid high fees,” Eniolorunda said, referencing the significant volume of informal remittance flows into Nigeria. “We believe our distribution network and technology can shift that behavior.”

According to the World Bank, Nigeria received £2.7 billion in remittances from the UK in 2021 through formal channels. However, a substantial portion of money sent to Nigeria still moves informally, often through networks of friends, relatives, or unlicensed agents.

Monieworld is powered by Moniepoint GB, the fintech’s UK-based subsidiary, which has partnered with PayrNet, a licensed electronic money institution, to process transactions. On the Nigerian end, Moniepoint secured an International Money Transfer Operator license through its local subsidiary, Global Wire.