Nume Ekeghe with agency reports
South Africa’s Standard Bank Group is in talks to acquire a stake in Nigerian fintech company, OPay Digital Services, ahead of the payments company’s planned listing in the United States, Bloomberg has reported.
The proposed investment would give the banking group by assets a position in OPay before the fintech seeks to raise capital on the US market.
People familiar with the matter told Bloomberg that Standard Bank was seeking to acquire the stake ahead of the initial public offering, although the size of the proposed investment and the percentage stake being targeted remain unknown.
The discussions come as OPay steps up preparations for what could be one of the biggest African fintech listings in the US.
In May, Bloomberg reported that OPay had appointed Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, and JPMorgan Chase to work on its planned US IPO, with the company targeting a valuation of about $4 billion. The listing could take place later this year, according to people familiar with the plans.
OPay, which is backed by SoftBank Group and Sequoia Capital, has grown into one of Nigeria’s major digital payments platforms, offering transfers, payments, and other financial services to consumers and businesses.
Bloomberg reported, “Standard Bank Group Ltd. is in talks to buy a stake in Opay Digital Services Ltd., as the Nigeria-focused financial technology firm prepares for an initial public offering in the US, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
“Opay, which is backed by Softbank Group Corp. and Sequoia Capital, is working with Citigroup Inc., Deutsche Bank AG and JPMorgan Chase & Co. to help list the company in New York, said the people who asked not to be identified as the information is still private. Standard Bank is seeking to buy the stake before the IPO, the people said.”
OPay’s strong operating performance has also strengthened the case for its planned US listing.
The fintech processed $358 billion in gross transaction value (GTV) in 2025, more than double the $166.2 billion recorded in 2024, representing a 115 per cent increase in transaction value over the year.
The growth was accompanied by a sharp expansion in its user base, with monthly active users rising 57 per cent to 39.3 million in 2025, from 25.1 million a year earlier.
Daily active users also climbed 50 per cent to 22.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2025, pushing the platform’s daily-to-monthly active user ratio to 57.8 percent.
The figures highlight the scale of OPay’s business in Nigeria and come as the fintech prepares for a potential US IPO, which could value the company about $4 billion.