OPay Files for NYSE IPO, Aiming to Raise $500M

Singapore-based digital payment company OPay made its first public U.S. IPO filing last week, seeking a New York Stock Exchange listing. Media reports say the offering could raise up to $500 million. OPay has focused on distant, underbanked markets rather than the crowded, capital-intensive markets of Southeast Asia. The strategy gives investors exposure to financial markets currently a decade or two behind China and Southeast Asia.

OPay's app ranked as Nigeria's second most used digital financial platform across all categories by daily active users as of July 2026. Nigeria, Africa's most populous country, accounts for nearly 90% of OPay's revenue. Egypt, Pakistan and Indonesia provide the remaining revenue.

OPay traces its origins to 2017, when Norwegian browser company Opera acquired PayCom Nigeria under Chinese billionaire Zhou Yahui, the founder of Kunlun Tech. Opera rebranded the business and launched OPay in 2018. OPay used Opera's large mobile browser presence in Africa to enter markets with sparse banking infrastructure and widespread cash transactions. OPay initially offered bike-hailing, food delivery and micro-lending alongside mobile payments in Nigeria. However, regulatory obstacles, including a 2020 ban on commercial motorcycle taxis, and operational constraints forced OPay to dismantle transport and delivery operations. OPay redirected resources toward physical payment networks and peer-to-peer transfers, establishing a financial services business that supported expansion into Egypt and Pakistan.

OPay's prospectus shows that revenue more than doubled to $536.3 million last year, fueled by a 115% increase in gross transaction value. Revenue reached $467 million in the first half of 2026, up 137% year-on-year. First-half revenue exceeded 80% of OPay's revenue for all of 2025. OPay recorded a net loss of $51 million in 2024. OPay returned to profitability with a net profit of $72.5 million in 2025. Net profit exceeded $90 million in the first half of this year, more than quadruple the $21.7 million earned in the year-earlier period.

OPay achieved profitable growth by aggressively expanding its agent banking network. Traditional bank branches and ATMs in cash-dominant Nigeria are often distant and affected by long queues or frequent outages. Agent banking equips local shopkeepers, kiosk owners and pharmacy operators with portable point-of-sale terminals instead of requiring expensive bank buildings. Customers give agents cash to deposit digital money into phone wallets, or transfer digital funds to agents in exchange for cash. The model allows millions of people with little or no access to traditional banks to participate in the online economy without using bank branches or ATMs. OPay's active point-of-sale network, including cash withdrawal kiosks and merchant payment terminals, grew about 43% from the end of 2024 to 800,000 machines by the end of June 2026.

OPay earns recurring fee revenue from cash movements through the agent banking network. The agent network has relatively low gross profit margins of 20% to 25%. The network also provides OPay with customers who may use higher-margin products such as loans. Revenue from self-originated loans and fees for facilitating loans from partner banks accounts for about half of OPay's revenue. Those lending activities carry gross profit margins above 70%.

OPay's leadership includes former executives from Ant Group, the financial affiliate of Alibaba, alongside a chairman with roots in China. OPay adapted China's super-app model, similar to Ant's Alipay, to address specific financial needs in Nigeria. OPay emphasizes that the company has no financial links to China's market. OPay says the company believes its U.S. listing does not require approval from China's securities regulator. OPay's Singapore base reflects a broader movement of entrepreneurs in China's fintech industry toward less heavily regulated markets overseas.

The reported $500 million fundraising target implies a market capitalization of roughly $4 billion. That valuation exceeds 20 times OPay's annualized 2026 net profit, roughly matching Latin American digital banking company Nu Holdings, which also focuses on emerging-market credit and payments. A successful IPO would support the argument that fintech companies with suitable operating models can find highly lucrative opportunities far from their home markets.