Standard Bank has agreed to buy a stake in OPay, the Nigeria-focused digital payments group, linking Africa’s largest lender by assets to one of the continent’s fastest-growing fintech platforms as it prepares to list in New York.
In a statement on Monday, the bank said it had signed a subscription agreement, with the investment expected to close alongside or shortly after OPay’s initial public offering (IPO). Stanbic Africa Holdings, a group subsidiary, will buy shares in a private placement alongside the offering, paying the lowest of $200m (R3.3bn), 0.98% of the group’s qualifying regulatory capital, or the price of a 4.99% stake at the IPO price. Standard Bank said the outlay would be less than 1% of its R481bn market capitalisation.
OPay filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday to list on the NYSE under the symbol OPAY, in an offering Renaissance Capital estimates could raise up to $500m (R8.3bn). Citi, Deutsche Bank, Standard Bank and CICC are joint bookrunners. Bloomberg reported in May that the company was targeting a valuation of about $4bn (R66bn), double the $2bn valuation at which it raised $400m (R6.6bn) in 2021.
| OPay at a glance | Figure |
|---|---|
| Revenue, six months to June 2026 | $467.1m (R7.7bn), up from $197.5m (R3.3bn) |
| Net income, six months to June 2026 | $90.9m (R1.5bn), up from $21.7m (R358m) |
| Revenue, 12 months to June 2026 | $806m (R13.3bn) |
| Revenue growth, 2025 | 161% to $536.3m (R8.8bn) |
| Monthly active users, 2025 | 39.3 million, up 57% |
| Nigeria’s share of 2025 revenue | 88.1% |
| SoftBank stake before IPO | 6.6% |
The company swung to a net profit of $72.5m (R1.2bn) in 2025 from a loss of about $51m (R841m) a year earlier, while lending rose 285%.
OPay was founded by Chinese billionaire Yahui Zhou, who also founded gaming company Beijing Kunlun Tech. Frost & Sullivan ranks it as the leading finance app in Africa and the Middle East, with a 9.9% share of monthly active users, and the second most-used app of any category in Nigeria. Beyond Nigeria, it facilitates loans in Indonesia and provides merchant acquiring in Egypt and Pakistan. It plans a secondary listing in Lagos after the NYSE debut, following criticism from Nigerian investors over a foreign listing for a business that earns most of its income at home.
The two parties intend to explore digital banking and the distribution of Standard Bank products through OPay’s platform. A non-binding memorandum identifies merchant acquiring, wealth products and foreign exchange as areas of co-operation. Lungisa Fuzile, CEO of Standard Bank’s Africa Regions and a former director-general of the National Treasury, will join OPay’s board as a non-executive director once the placement closes. Any initiatives remain subject to definitive agreements and regulatory approval.
Standard Bank linked the deal to the strategy set out at its Capital Markets Day in March, which targets headline earnings per share growth of 8% to 12% a year and return on equity of 18% to 22%, with digital channels and payments seen as routes to capital-light revenue. Africa Regions contributed R10.4bn in earnings in the first half of 2026, and the group’s active client base grew to 19.5 million. The bank already operates in Nigeria through Stanbic IBTC Holdings.
The listing comes at a difficult moment. Reuters noted that rising bond yields and elevated interest rates have dampened appetite for new listings, prompting several companies to delay plans.