OPay Advances Plans for New York IPO as Lending Overtakes Payments and Revenue Surges in H1

Fintech firm OPay is preparing for a potential listing on the New York Stock Exchange, having submitted a Form F-1 registration statement to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on October 9, 2026.

The Cayman Islands-incorporated company, headquartered in Singapore and operating primarily through subsidiaries in Nigeria and other emerging markets, has applied to list American depositary shares under the ticker symbol OPAY.

The preliminary filing leaves the offering price and number of shares blank, with the transaction remaining subject to regulatory approvals and market conditions.

The move comes amid strong financial momentum. In the six months ended June 30, 2026, OPay reported revenue of approximately $467.1 million, a 136.5 percent increase from $197.5 million in the same period a year earlier.

Net income rose to $90.9 million from $21.7 million.

For the full year 2025, revenue reached $536.3 million, up from $205.7 million in 2024, while the company swung from a net loss of about $50.8 million to a net profit of $72.5 million.

A key shift in the business mix has been the rise of lending-focused operations. Loan financing services contributed $236.1 million in the first half of 2026, accounting for roughly 50.6 percent of total revenue and surpassing transaction-based services, which generated $130.6 million.

This marks an evolution from OPay’s origins as a mobile payments and point-of-sale platform. Nigerian loan originations more than tripled in the period, underscoring how the company has leveraged its user base and data to expand credit products, though this has also driven higher provisions for credit losses.

Nigeria remains the dominant market, contributing $417.6 million, or about 89.5 percent, of first-half 2026 revenue.

The company also maintains operations in Indonesia, Egypt, and Pakistan, offering a range of digital financial services including payments, transfers, savings, and credit through its mobile platform.

Platform activity has scaled significantly, with millions of monthly and daily active users and hundreds of billions in gross transaction value processed, reflecting broad adoption in a market where traditional banking infrastructure is limited.

Alongside the proposed IPO, Stanbic Africa Holdings, a subsidiary of South Africa’s Standard Bank Group, has agreed to a concurrent private placement of up to $200 million, structured so that its stake does not exceed 4.99 percent and subject to regulatory limits and completion of the offering.

OPay has also obtained board and shareholder approval to pursue a secondary listing on the Nigerian Exchange after the New York debut, potentially giving local investors access to shares in a business that derives the vast majority of its revenue from the country.

Underwriters named in connection with the filing include Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, Standard Bank, and China International Capital Corporation.

The proposed listing would represent a significant milestone for African fintech, providing a public valuation benchmark for a SoftBank-backed platform that has grown rapidly since its founding and 2021 funding round.

While the filing highlights growth in revenue, profitability, as well as user engagement, it also notes risks including credit exposure, regulatory compliance, and geographic concentration. Pricing, timing, and final terms remain to be determined as the process advances.


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