South Africa’s Standard Bank Group plans to invest up to $200 million in Nigerian fintech company OPay as the digital financial services provider prepares to list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange.
The proposed investment will see Stanbic Africa Holdings, a Standard Bank subsidiary, acquire a stake of up to 4.99% in OPay through a private placement alongside the planned initial public offering (IPO). The transaction remains subject to regulatory approval and the completion of the share offering.
The investment signals growing institutional interest in OPay as it pursues a major expansion of its financial services business. According to Brandspur Banking News Desk, the proposed deal also creates an opportunity for both companies to explore wider cooperation across African markets, including digital banking, payments and cross-border financial services.
Standard Bank has signed a subscription agreement, although the exact investment amount has not been disclosed. Under the terms outlined in OPay’s filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, the bank will pay the lowest of $200 million, 0.98% of its qualifying regulatory capital or the value of a 4.99% stake calculated at the IPO price.
The listing application proposes that OPay’s American depositary shares trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol OPAY. However, the filing does not yet specify the number of shares to be offered or the proposed price range.
Beyond the investment, the companies intend to explore ways to combine Standard Bank’s established banking network with OPay’s digital platform and merchant base. Potential areas of cooperation include lending, remittances, merchant payment services and the distribution of selected Standard Bank products through OPay’s application.
These plans are not binding. Any proposed initiative will require further agreements and regulatory approval before implementation.
Standard Bank will also play a role in the listing process, with its South African banking arm named among the representatives of the IPO underwriters alongside Citigroup, Deutsche Bank and China International Capital Corporation. The filing further indicates that Lungisa Fuzile, chief executive of Standard Bank’s Africa Regions business, is expected to join OPay’s board as a non-executive director once the private placement closes.
Founded in 2017, OPay launched its payments business in Nigeria in 2018. The company has since expanded beyond Nigeria into Indonesia, Egypt and Pakistan, although Nigeria remains its dominant market.
Figures contained in the registration statement underline the scale of its Nigerian operations. The country accounted for 89.5% of OPay’s revenue in the first half of 2026, highlighting the importance of the local market as the company seeks access to international investors.
OPay reported revenue of $536.3 million in 2025, up from $205.7 million the previous year. It also swung from a net loss of $50.8 million in 2024 to a net profit of $72.5 million in 2025.
Its growth continued in the first half of 2026, when revenue more than doubled to $467.1 million. Net income rose to $90.9 million from $21.7 million in the corresponding period a year earlier.
The company reported 50.1 million monthly active users at the end of July 2026, while the total value of transactions, payments and loans processed through its platform reached $339.1 billion in the first six months of the year.
For Nigeria’s financial technology sector, the planned listing could bring greater international attention to a business that has built a substantial user base around digital payments and other financial services. However, OPay’s prospectus also identifies regulatory action in its operating markets as a potential risk, including restrictions on enrolling new customers.
Standard Bank already has a presence in Nigeria through Stanbic IBTC Holdings. Its proposed investment in OPay would deepen its exposure to the country’s digital financial services market while giving the fintech access to a potential strategic partner with operations across Africa.
