Uchibeke explained the Chimoney’s shutdown in a detailed public post, stating that the decision followed four years of building cross-border payment infrastructure aimed at simplifying global money movement.
He said the company was created to solve the friction of international payments, where businesses, such as a U.S. company paying a freelancer in Lagos, had to navigate multiple payment rails, currencies, and compliance systems.
Chimoney developed a single API designed to simplify this process, enabling payments across multiple currencies and methods, including bank transfers, mobile money, stablecoins, and Interledger.
Over the course of its operations, the company built what he described as a fully functional and compliant payment infrastructure. Chimoney participated in the Techstars accelerator, secured a FINTRAC MSB license, and became one of the early companies in Canada to obtain a Payment Service Provider (PSP) license under the Bank of Canada’s RPAA framework.
It also became one of the first production-level Interledger providers globally and served hundreds of businesses across 41 currencies spanning North America, Africa, and Latin America. Despite these achievements, the company stopped accepting new transactions on April 30, 2026.
According to the founder, the issue was not the product itself, which he said worked effectively, but rather the challenge of distribution and customer acquisition. He noted that the company raised less than $1 million over its lifetime, which proved insufficient for a fintech operating across multiple jurisdictions with high regulatory and audit costs.
As revenue remained flat and additional funding options did not materialize, the company explored strategic alternatives, but none were viable under acceptable terms. This ultimately led to the decision to wind down the business rather than continue under financial uncertainty.
He added that investors were informed in February, while clients were notified in April. All customer wallet balances are being refunded, and migration guides were provided for developers using the API. The refund process remains open until August 31, 2026.
The founder also stated that the company’s corporate structure and PSP license are being preserved, noting that such regulatory approvals are difficult to obtain and likely to become even more restrictive over time.
Reflecting on the journey, he highlighted key lessons around aligning capital with ambition, the difference between building a strong product and building a scalable distribution engine, and the importance of responsible shutdown processes that prioritize investors, clients, and reputation.
Chimoney was a Nigerian-founded fintech startup that built infrastructure for cross-border payments, mainly targeting businesses that needed to send money globally through a single API.
Founded around 2021–2022 by Uchi Uchibeke, the company positioned itself as a “payment orchestration layer”, meaning it didn’t just process payments but connected multiple payment systems (bank transfers, mobile money, gift cards, airtime, and even stablecoin rails) into one unified platform. This allowed companies to pay freelancers, vendors, and users across different countries and currencies more easily.
