thepeer

Thepeer, a Nigerian fintech startup, was established in 2021 by Kosisochukwu Chike Ononye (CEO) and Michael 'Trojan' Okoh (CTO). Ononye, a product designer with extensive experience in user-centered SaaS products for the fintech sector, led the product and design efforts. The company was born from the founders' realization that transferring money between different fintech wallets was a significant challenge. Thepeer aimed to solve the issue of interoperability in the African market by creating a foundational API-based payments layer. This infrastructure was designed to allow fintechs and other businesses to embed financial products into their applications, enabling their customers to move money natively between various digital wallets.

The company's business model was centered on providing API infrastructure for small and medium-sized businesses, primarily in the fintech space. It operated on a pay-as-you-go model, charging a fee for transactions processed through its system. The product suite included 'Direct Charge', which allowed users to fund their wallets from other businesses without using a bank; 'Send', for peer-to-peer transfers between users of integrated businesses; and 'Checkout', an option for online payments. By integrating Thepeer's API, businesses could offer their customers a more streamlined payment experience, bypassing traditional card payment failures. The service initially supported the Naira currency with plans for expansion.

Thepeer gained early traction, securing a pre-seed round of $220,000 and later a significant seed round of $2.1 million in June 2022, led by Raba Partnership with participation from other notable investors like Chipper Cash and Stitch. At its peak, the company reported a month-on-month transaction growth rate of 161% and had processed over $12 million for clients like Nguvu Health, Eversend, and Bitsika. However, the company faced significant hurdles. In April 2024, Thepeer announced it was shutting down operations. The founders cited major challenges, including regulatory compliance issues that prevented the onboarding of key wallet providers and a slower-than-anticipated market acceptance of digital wallets as a primary payment method. After considering a pivot or acquisition, the leadership decided the best course of action was to cease operations and return the remaining capital to its investors, placing the platform in maintenance mode.

Keywords: API payments, fintech infrastructure, digital wallets, payment gateway, Africa fintech, interoperability, online payments, money movement, Kosisochukwu Chike Ononye, Michael Okoh, wallet-to-wallet transfer, payment processing, Nigerian startup, Raba Partnership, Direct Charge, fintech API, startup shutdown, regulatory compliance, payment layer, venture capital, seed funding