Allawee shuts down accounts December 1 after Paystack acquisition, customers must withdraw by November 30

Nigerian card-issuing fintech Allawee is shutting down its business and personal account services from December 1, 2026. Customers have until November 30 to withdraw their funds and make alternative arrangements.

The company disclosed the decision in emails sent to customers, according to TechCabal, explaining that its technology now operates within Paystack following the latter's acquisition of Allawee in 2025. Allawee warned that payments sent to its account numbers from December 1, 2026 will fail, while its cards will also stop working, regardless of the expiry dates printed on them.

What customers must do before the deadline

Customers have been advised to withdraw their balances before the deadline, provide new bank details to people or businesses that regularly pay them, and replace saved Allawee card information on subscriptions and other recurring payments.

Allawee said customers would not lose their money because of the shutdown. “Your money will remain yours,” the company said, adding that balances would remain safely recorded after the deadline. However, customers who fail to withdraw their funds before November 30 will have to contact Paystack through [email protected] to request a manual payout, a process the company warned could take longer.

The shutdown also means customers will not simply be transferred to new Paystack accounts. According to the emails, account balances, account numbers, transaction histories and verification records will not carry over. Customers will instead need to open new accounts with the relevant Paystack services. Businesses are being directed to Paystack MFB, while individual customers are being directed to Zap, Paystack's consumer transfer app.

Why Allawee is closing

Allawee's closure marks another major step in Paystack's expansion beyond payment processing and into broader financial services. The company has already folded Brass, a business banking startup, into Paystack MFB. In January, Paystack acquired Ladder Microfinance Bank, giving it access to a banking licence, before restructuring under a new holding company. The moves suggest Paystack is assembling a wider financial-services ecosystem through acquisitions rather than developing every component independently.

Allawee and Paystack declined to comment on the development. Founded in 2022 by Ikenna Enenwali and Oreofe Olurin, Allawee underwent several transformations before becoming a card infrastructure company. It initially launched as a credit card lender, later shifted into credit-risk technology and eventually focused on helping banks and fintechs issue cards. By May 2025, Allawee was providing card infrastructure for companies including PiggyVest, Nomba and Carbon, helping them launch card programmes in weeks rather than months.

The company's technology could therefore be more valuable to Paystack than its consumer-facing accounts.

Wider fintech consolidation

Allawee's shutdown also reflects a wider consolidation sweeping Nigeria's fintech industry. According to a TechCabal report, the funding boom of 2020 to 2022 encouraged companies to build overlapping financial products. But tighter funding conditions, rising competition and increased regulatory scrutiny have forced fintechs to rethink their strategies. Acquisitions and consolidation are increasingly becoming a faster route to technology, licences, customers and infrastructure.

Flutterwave's acquisition of open-banking startup Mono earlier this year is another example of major Nigerian fintechs buying critical infrastructure as they expand beyond traditional payment processing. For Allawee customers, however, the immediate priority is simpler: withdraw funds, update payment details and replace their cards before November 30.