Payment processing giant Paystack has folded Nigerian card-issuing startup Allawee into its business, following an unannounced acquisition completed in 2025.
Leading African payments company Paystack has quietly acquired Allawee a Nigerian fintech startup known for issuing cards and powering financial accounts. Following the deal, Allawee will completely shut down its standalone customer accounts and card services by December 1, 2026.
Although Paystack secretly bought Allawee in 2025, details of the takeover were kept under wraps until Allawee began sending emails to notify its customers about the upcoming service closure.
Allawee has informed all personal and business account holders that they have until November 30, 2026 to move their money out of the platform. Starting December 1, 2026, all Allawee account numbers will stop receiving money and any incoming transfers will fail while all physical and virtual Allawee cards will stop working regardless of the expiry date printed on them. Additionally, account histories, verification details and account numbers will not automatically transfer over to Paystack.
Allawee assured users that their money is completely safe. Anyone who misses the November 30 deadline will still be able to retrieve their funds by reaching out directly to Paystack’s support team for a manual transfer though the process may take a bit longer.
Founded in 2022, Allawee spent years building technology that allowed other companies and banks to issue cards quickly. Instead of building similar card-issuing technology from scratch, Paystack bought Allawee to absorb its underlying system and expert team into its growing financial network.
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As part of the integration, existing business customers are being directed to Paystack Microfinance Bank, while individual users are being encouraged to try Zap, Paystack’s consumer transfer app.
The shutdown of Allawee’s standalone brand is part of a broader wave of mergers and acquisitions across Nigeria’s tech ecosystem. Rather than competing against one another with similar financial tools, larger tech companies are buying up smaller startups to expand their services, navigate regulations smoothly and offer more complete banking solutions under one roof.
