Opay, the Nigerian financial-technology company, announced an IPO filing in the United States that highlights soaring profits as its lending business now eclipses payment services, and it also intends to pursue a secondary listing in Lagos.
NYSE Debut and Financial Growth
Opay Limited, which counts SoftBank among its investors and is overseen by Chinese entrepreneur Zhou Yahui, submitted a Form F-1 registration to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on 9 October. The filing outlines a plan to list American depositary shares on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol OPAY. Details on pricing and the exact share count have not yet been disclosed.
The prospectus reveals a marked improvement in the firm’s financial results. In the six-month period ending 30 June 2026, revenue climbed to $467.1 million, more than double the $197.5 million recorded a year earlier. Net income for the same interval rose to $90.9 million, representing an increase of over four times.
For the full year 2025, Opay posted revenue of $536.3 million, up from $205.7 million in 2024. That turnaround converted a loss of $50.8 million into a profit of $72.5 million. The filing notes that approximately 89% of first-half revenue was generated in Nigeria.
Market Expansion and Revenue Sources
Lending has become the primary source of earnings, surpassing the payments segment that originally defined the platform when it launched as a mobile-money and point-of-sale service in Lagos in 2018. Opay now reports 50.1 million monthly active users and processes gross transaction volumes measured in the hundreds of billions of dollars each year. Average transaction sizes stay relatively low, reflecting the company’s focus on everyday retail and small-merchant activity in a market where formal banking penetration remains limited.
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The firm also operates in Indonesia, Egypt and Pakistan, providing merchant-acquiring and wallet services in the latter two countries. These markets are still secondary to its Nigerian base. Zhou Yahui, who controls Opay through holding vehicles, is positioned to be the largest individual beneficiary in a valuation near $4 billion. SoftBank-related entities retain a 6.6% stake before the IPO, while Opera, the Norwegian browser company that helped launch the business, holds a sizeable minority interest.
Listing Plans and Underwriters
Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, Standard Bank and China International Capital Corporation have been named as lead underwriters, with additional participation from B. Riley Securities and Needham & Company. The prospectus also discloses a concurrent private placement that could raise up to $200 million from Standard Bank Group’s Stanbic Africa Holdings.
The Standard Bank investment will take the form of a private placement of ordinary shares, limited to the lowest of $200 million, 0.98% of the bank’s qualifying regulatory capital, or a 4.99% post-transaction ownership stake. Lungisa Fuzile, Standard Bank’s head for Africa, is slated to join Opay’s board after the offering. The company has secured board and shareholder approval for a secondary listing on the Nigerian Exchange following the NYSE debut, subject to market conditions and regulatory clearance.
The dual-listing strategy is aimed at giving Nigerian investors direct exposure to a business whose revenues are overwhelmingly domestic. Opay warned that shares on the two exchanges might not be immediately interchangeable, which could fragment liquidity. Proceeds are intended for technology upgrades, expansion of distribution channels, development of new products and potential acquisitions.
Timing and Risks
No definitive price range or timeline has been announced. Market watchers anticipate pricing discussions to occur around mid-November, following the usual road-show schedule after an F-1 filing. The broader IPO climate remains cautious, as higher interest rates and rising bond yields have led several companies to postpone listings this year. Fintech offerings from Africa have been particularly scarce, making a successful debut at a $4 billion valuation a potential milestone for the sector.
