Standard Bank Group, wey be Africa biggest lender by assets, dey consider to buy stake for Nigerian payments company OPay as di fintech dey prepare for possible listing for United States.
Di South African banking group don hold preliminary discussion about investment for di SoftBank-backed company, according to Bloomberg report wey cite people wey know di matter. Di size and structure of any potential investment no don dey disclosed.
Di discussion still dey early stage and e fit no lead to any agreement. Representatives of Standard Bank and OPay no comment for di discussion, according to di report.
A deal go give Standard Bank exposure to one of Nigeria largest digital payments platform at di time wey traditional lenders dey find better share for Africa fast-growing fintech market. E fit also provide OPay with di backing of Africa largest banking group as di company dey try to persuade international investors say im Nigerian payments business fit sustain di rapid growth.
OPay don dey prepare for possible initial public offering for United States later for 2026. Di company dey work with Citigroup, Deutsche Bank and JPMorgan Chase for di proposed share sale, wey fit value di business for about $4 billion, according to earlier Bloomberg report. However, di final valuation, timing and size of di offering go depend on market conditions and investor demand.
A $4 billion valuation go be twice di $2 billion wey OPay secure during im last major funding round for 2021. OPay raise $400 million for dat round, wey SoftBank Vision Fund 2 lead. Other investors include Sequoia Capital China, Source Code Capital, Redpoint China, Long-Z Capital and 3W Capital. Di fundraising remain one of di largest wey African-focused technology company complete.
An investment by Standard Bank before di IPO go give OPay another major institutional shareholder and provide a valuation marker ahead of di proposed public offering. E fit also allow di South African lender to benefit if OPay secure higher valuation when im shares begin to trade.
OPay found for 2018, e build im business for Nigeria through mobile wallets, bank transfers, merchant payments, debit cards, savings products and an extensive agency banking network. Although di company also dey operate for markets including Egypt, Pakistan and Indonesia, Nigeria remain di centre of im business.
Figures wey dey inside investment document wey dem circulate ahead of di planned IPO show say Nigeria account for 88.1 per cent of OPay revenue for 2025. OPay reportedly process $358 billion for gross transaction value during di year, up from $166.2 billion for 2024. Im monthly active users increase from 25.1 million to 39.3 million over di same period. Revenue rise from $205.7 million for 2024 to $536.3 million for 2025, while di company return to operating profit, according to figures from di document. These figures no don independently publish for audited financial statements by OPay.
Di expansion reflect Nigeria rapid shift towards digital payments. Data from Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System show say electronic transactions reach ₦284.99 trillion for di first quarter of 2025, up 17.7 per cent from di same period a year earlier. Point-of-sale payments climb to ₦10.45 trillion during di quarter, almost three times di amount wey dem record for di first quarter of 2024.
Standard Bank dey operate for Nigeria through Stanbic IBTC Holdings and don previously signal intention to deepen im investment for di country. Di group already own controlling stake for Stanbic IBTC, wey dey offer banking, investment, pension and asset management services. For 2024, Standard Bank chief executive Sim Tshabalala say di group want to increase im shareholding for im Nigerian business, describing am as a strong operation.
Di lender don also place payments and digital financial services at di centre of im continental strategy. Standard Bank say e process more than R164 trillion for payments for 2025 across im 20 million customers and correspondent banking relationships. E don identify Africa expanding digital financial ecosystem as an opportunity to grow fee-based income without relying entirely on traditional lending.
Taking a stake for OPay go give di group access to a large base of consumers and small businesses wey dey increasingly conduct financial transactions outside conventional bank branches. E go also reflect a wider change for African finance. Rather than competing only with fintech companies, large banks dey increasingly invest for, partner with or acquire digital platforms to gain technology, customers and payment volumes.
For OPay, Standard Bank interest provide another sign say im Nigerian operation don become strategically important beyond di country fintech industry. But until an agreement dey signed, di possible investment and di proposed US IPO remain subject to change.
