Standard Bank Group will invest up to $200 million in OPay, a fintech company focused on Nigeria. OPay filed on Friday to list its shares in New York, TechCentral reported.
Standard Bank said it had signed a subscription agreement, but it did not give the amount. The figure appears in the registration statement OPay filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
“Standard Bank’s banking expertise and African footprint complement OPay’s digital financial services platform and merchant ecosystems,” said Standard Bank Group CEO Sim Tshabalala. “Together we see potential to expand access to financial services, support cross-border commerce and deliver value to clients across Africa.”
Stanbic Africa Holdings, part of Standard Bank Group, will buy the shares in a private placement next to the public offering. The deal depends on the listing going ahead and on regulatory approval.
The bank will pay the lowest of three amounts. These are $200 million, 0.98% of its qualifying regulatory capital, or the cost of a 4.99% stake at the IPO price. With some exceptions, it may not sell the shares for 12 months after OPay’s prospectus date.
Standard Bank also has a second role in the listing. The Standard Bank of South Africa is one of four representatives of the underwriters. The others are Citigroup, Deutsche Bank and China International Capital Corporation.
Lungisa Fuzile, CEO of Standard Bank’s Africa Regions business, will join OPay’s board as a non-executive director once the placement closes. Fuzile is a former director-general of the national treasury. He led Standard Bank South Africa from 2018 to 2024.
OPay wants to list American depositary shares on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol OPAY. The filing does not yet give the number of shares or a price range.
Bloomberg reported on 18 August that Standard Bank was in talks to buy a stake. Nigeria’s BusinessDay reported the next day that OPay was aiming for a value of about $4 billion.
The two companies also plan to look at digital banking in African markets. They want to sell some Standard Bank products through OPay’s app and merchant network. Payments, lending and money transfers are also on the list.
None of these plans are binding yet. The filing says the agreement signed on 14 August “does not obligate either party to implement any particular initiative”. Any project will need final agreements and regulatory approval.
OPay was started in 2017 by Zhou Yahui, also known as James Zhou. He worked with Opera, the Oslo-based web browser company he chairs. The company launched payments in Nigeria in 2018.
In 2021, OPay raised $400 million in a round led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2, Reuters reported at the time. That round valued the company at $2 billion.
OPay is based in Singapore and also works in Indonesia, Egypt and Pakistan. But Nigeria brought in 89.5% of its revenue in the first half of 2026.
The prospectus shows revenue rose to $536.3 million in 2025, up from $205.7 million in 2024. A net loss of $50.8 million turned into a net profit of $72.5 million.
In the six months to 30 June 2026, revenue more than doubled to $467.1 million. Net income rose to $90.9 million from $21.7 million a year earlier.
OPay had 50.1 million monthly active users at the end of July. The total value of payments and loans on its platform reached $339.1 billion in the first half of 2026.
Before the offering, Zhou holds 21.3% of OPay, Opera holds 8.6% and SoftBank holds 6.6%. The filing lists possible regulatory action in its markets as a risk, including limits on signing up new customers.
Standard Bank already works in Nigeria through Stanbic IBTC Holdings. The bank said the investment builds on the growth plan it set out at its recent capital markets day.
Source: this article is based on reporting by TechCentral. Image: TechCentral. Written with the help of AI and published by the Tzaneen Voice Technology desk. See our Editorial Standards.
Werner Jacobs covers technology for Tzaneen Voice. Werner reports on mobile networks, data prices, internet access, smartphones, apps, AI, cybersecurity and South African tech companies. Each story explains what a new product, price change or policy means for ordinary users in South Africa.