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 glob...