Nigeria: Flutterwave Discontinues Barter Virtual Card, Shifts Focus to Remittance Services

Flutterwave has announced the discontinuation of its Barter service, a virtual card platform introduced in 2017 as part of the fintech company’s growth strategy. The decision, as stated by Flutterwave, is rooted in a market analysis that identified evolving customer needs and changing trends. The company will redirect its efforts toward strengthening its remittance and enterprise business segments, both of which have demonstrated greater success.

Barter faced challenges, notably experiencing downtime in 2022 due to an update from its card partner, Union54. Unfortunately, Union54, a Zambian issuer, became the target of a significant chargeback fraud attempt amounting to $1.2 billion. This event, coupled with stability issues and card rejections from major merchants like Netflix, Facebook, PayPal, and Apple Music, likely influenced the decision to discontinue the Barter service.

Despite its significance in the Nigerian fintech landscape since its launch in 2017, where it pioneered international payment capabilities for Nigerians, Barter’s contribution to Flutterwave’s overall revenue remained minimal. While Flutterwave processes billions of dollars through its enterprise services, Barter accounted for only around 1% of that transaction volume.

Flutterwave’s strategic realignment places emphasis on its remittance products, Send and Swap. These services aim to capture a substantial portion of Africa’s $54 billion remittance market. Although their current progress is under observation, the company remains optimistic about its future prospects.

Barter, having played a pioneering role by offering Nigerians the ability to make international payments, holds a notable place in the history of Nigerian fintech startups.