OPay Doubles Transaction Value to $358bn as Fintech Targets $4bn U.S. IPO

OPay processed $358 billion in gross transaction value in 2025, more than twice the volume recorded a year earlier, as the Nigerian-focused fintech expanded its customer base, lending operations and revenue ahead of a planned listing on the New York Stock Exchange.

The company's transaction value rose 115% from $166.2 billion in 2024, according to an investment document reviewed by Nairametrics. The increase provides a measure of the scale OPay has reached in Nigeria's increasingly digital payments market, where mobile wallets, transfers and merchant payments have become major channels for financial transactions.

The growth was accompanied by a significant increase in users and lending activity, strengthening OPay's case for a potential U.S. public offering that could value the company at about $4 billion.

OPay's monthly active users increased 57% to 39.3 million in 2025 from 25.1 million a year earlier.

Daily active users also climbed 50% to 22.7 million in the fourth quarter, giving the company a daily-to-monthly active user ratio of 57.8%. The ratio suggests that a substantial proportion of OPay's customer base uses the platform frequently rather than only for occasional transactions.

The company said about 70% of its Nigerian wallet monthly active users were using more than five product use cases as of March 2026. Those customers recorded 96% next-month retention, indicating that deeper engagement with multiple products is associated with strong customer retention.

That is strategically important as OPay seeks to move beyond payments into a broader digital financial-services platform.

Lending Business Becomes A Major Growth Engine

OPay's lending business expanded even faster than its payments operations. New loans originated surged 285%, from $243.9 million in 2024 to $938.3 million in 2025. The number of unique quarterly borrowers in Nigeria increased 119% to 4.6 million.

The expansion gives OPay another source of revenue and provides the company with an opportunity to monetize the large customer base it has built through its payments platform.

However, rapid credit expansion also brings greater exposure to credit risk. The ability to maintain loan growth while controlling defaults and losses will therefore be an important consideration for investors assessing OPay ahead of a potential IPO.

OPay's financial performance improved sharply alongside the increase in transaction volumes.

Revenue rose 161% to $536.3 million in 2025 from $205.7 million in 2024.

The company also moved from a $35.1 million operating loss in 2024 to operating income of $107.1 million in 2025. EBITDA swung from a $33.6 million loss to a $113.1 million profit.

The improvement gives OPay a stronger financial profile as it approaches the public markets, particularly at a time when investors have become more selective about high-growth fintech companies that have yet to demonstrate a path to sustainable profitability.

The investment document noted that net loss attributable to ordinary shareholders differs from operating profitability because of non-cash accretion associated with redeemable convertible preferred shares. Those preferred shares are expected to convert into ordinary shares following a qualified IPO.

That conversion could have implications for the company's share count and the ownership position of existing investors when OPay eventually goes public.

Nigeria Generates Nearly 90% of Revenue

Nigeria remains overwhelmingly OPay's most important market. The country accounted for 88.1% of the company's revenue in 2025. Indonesia contributed 9.9%, Egypt 1.6%, while other markets accounted for 0.4%.

OPay operates in Nigeria, Indonesia, Egypt and Pakistan and combines payments, savings, credit and other financial services through its mobile-first platform.

Its position in Nigeria is supported by its licenses as a Mobile Money Operator and Microfinance Bank. The company said its platform achieved a first-attempt transaction success rate of more than 99% in the fourth quarter of 2025.

The concentration of revenue in Nigeria is both a strength and a potential risk for investors. It demonstrates OPay's strong position in one of Africa's largest financial markets, but it also leaves the company's earnings highly exposed to changes in Nigeria's regulatory environment, consumer spending, financial-sector rules and macroeconomic conditions.

U.S. Listing Raises Questions Over Nigerian Market

OPay is reportedly targeting a valuation of about $4 billion for its proposed U.S. IPO, with Citigroup, Deutsche Bank and JPMorgan Chase appointed to manage the offering. The listing is expected later this year, although its timing and final valuation could change depending on market conditions.

The decision to seek a U.S. listing has generated debate in Nigeria because the country accounts for nearly 90% of OPay's revenue.

The issue has also entered the policy discussion around Nigeria's capital market. Temi Popoola, chief executive of Nigerian Exchange Group, recently urged President Bola Tinubu to support policies encouraging major companies operating in Nigeria, particularly high-growth fintech companies, to list domestically.

The debate highlights a broader challenge for Nigeria's capital market. Local companies that achieve substantial scale have access to deeper pools of capital overseas, potentially depriving the Nigerian exchange of some of its most valuable technology and consumer businesses.

For OPay, however, a U.S. listing could provide access to a much larger pool of international technology and fintech investors and potentially give the company a higher valuation than it might achieve on a less liquid domestic market.

The fintech is already looking beyond the IPO, setting a long-term target of reaching one billion users, supporting 10 million merchants and creating one million jobs across its markets.

Elizabeth Wang, OPay's chief commercial officer, said the company's strategy is no longer limited to operating a payments platform but is focused on using technology to broaden access to financial services and participation in the digital economy.

The scale of OPay's 2025 numbers is seen as an indication that the company has moved well beyond the early-stage fintech model.