Standard Bank seeks to acquire stake in Opay ahead of New York IPO

Standard Bank Group, Africa’s largest bank by assets, is in early talks to buy a minority stake in Opay Digital Services, the Nigerian digital payments company that’s gearing up for a US initial public offering. The deal would give one of the continent’s most established financial institutions a piece of one of its fastest-growing fintechs, right before the rest of the market gets a chance to bid.

The discussions are preliminary, and no formal agreement has been reached.

Opay’s growth makes the math obvious

Opay is targeting a valuation of approximately $4 billion for its New York listing. The company has retained Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, and Deutsche Bank as underwriters.

In 2025, Opay processed more than $358 billion in transaction volume, more than double what it handled the year before. Revenue hit $536 million, and the company turned a net profit of $72 million.

The platform now serves close to 50 million users across Nigeria, Egypt, and Pakistan. Co-founded in 2018, Opay has attracted backing from SoftBank Vision Fund and Sequoia Capital.

Why Standard Bank wants in

Sub-Saharan Africa’s mobile money transaction volume reached $1.4 trillion in 2025, accounting for 66% of global activity in that category.

What this means for African fintech

Opay’s IPO, if it goes ahead as planned, would be one of the most significant public market debuts for an African fintech company. The $4 billion target valuation would establish a concrete benchmark for how global investors price high-growth payment platforms operating primarily on the continent.

The $358 billion in transaction volume that Opay processed in 2025 represents a meaningful share of the region’s $1.4 trillion mobile money market. Nigeria alone has a population exceeding 200 million.

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