MetaMask taps MoonPay for fiat to crypto on-ramp in Nigeria
“Our partnership with MetaMask will enable us to provide Nigerian users with Bank Transfers, a widely used payment method across Nigerian e-commerce businesses. We hope this integration opens the doors for Nigerians to fund their self-custody wallet through a simplified user experience.”
MetaMask, the self-custody wallet owned by ConsenSys, has partnered with MoonPay to expand its offering in Nigeria by allowing its users to use instant bank transfers to purchase crypto directly within the MetaMask mobile app and the Portfolio Dapp, resulting in a more seamless experience that is cheaper, faster, and more efficient.
Nigeria is among MetaMask’s top markets globally, ranking third in mobile active users and is also among the top ten countries regarding visitors to the self-custody wallet’s website over the last month.
Nigeria faces serious challenges when using fiat to crypto on-ramp
Lorenzo Santos, Senior Product Manager at MetaMask, said: “This is an essential next step in a critical market that has embraced crypto and web3 but faces serious challenges when using fiat to crypto on-ramp. We are reducing friction and bringing down barriers to keep supporting Nigerians as they onboard into web3.”
Zeeshan Feroz, Chief Product & Strategy Officer of MoonPay, commented: “Our partnership with MetaMask will enable us to provide Nigerian users with Bank Transfers, a widely used payment method across Nigerian e-commerce businesses. We hope this integration opens the doors for Nigerians to fund their self-custody wallet through a simplified user experience.”
According to ConsenSys, buying and selling crypto in Nigeria can be challenging, with an estimated 90% of attempts to buy crypto using a credit/debit card declining.
Adding more localized payment methods, such as instant bank transfers, is expected to reduce decline rates and provide a user-friendly experience, thus enabling Nigerian users to access web3 and obtain tokens without having to set up an account with a centralized crypto exchange.
“We are committed to providing seamless experiences for users in Africa, starting with Nigeria and expanding the rollout of this feature to Kenya, Botswana, and South Africa in the coming month. Our collaboration with MoonPay is a step towards achieving this goal by providing users with a more convenient on-ramp experience in these countries”, said the official statement, noting the growing popularity of MetaMask in Nigeria which may signal the potential for further expansion of digital assets in Africa.
Grassroots crypto adoption in Nigeria has seen almost 12.4 million people, 5.7% of Nigeria’s population, buying crypto assets and putting the ountry among MetaMask’s top markets globally, ranking third in mobile active users.
The integration with MoonPay addresses the need to bring a widely accepted and real-time payment infrastructure to enable crypto transactions in Nigeria. This way, MetaMask users can become their own bank through self-custody, directly controlling their assets.
MoonPay offers solutions for payments, custody, world class design, and enterprise-scale digital asset and smart contracts minting. The firm operates in more than 160 countries and caters to over 500 partners, including leading wallets, exchanges, and commercial brands.
