# OPay

> Source: https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/wallets/opay
> research date 2026-05-29 · extracted at 2026-10-03
> Publisher: Barcoder — encyclopedia of QR, barcode and payment-code standards

Specifications:
- [OPay — official](https://www.opayweb.com/)

## Overview

**OPay** is **Nigeria's largest mobile wallet + fintech leader**, founded **2018** as **Opera browser group spin-off** <sup>[1][1], [2][2], [Nigeria report](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/NG)</sup>. By **2025**, OPay reached **58 million active users + $9.2+ billion FY2025 transactions + 22% Nigerian e-wallet market share**. **Monthly transaction volume**: ~**$12 billion**; **10 million daily active users**.

**Valuation trajectory** <sup>[3][3], [4][4]</sup>:
- **2021**: $2 billion (post-$400M Series C led by **SoftBank Vision Fund 2**)
- **2024**: $2.75 billion (Opera carrying value implied)
- **End-2025**: **$3.1 billion** (Opera valued its 9.5% stake at $294.6M)
- **Pending**: **$4 billion US IPO** — Opera assigns **85% probability** to OPay IPO within next 2 years.

**Distinctive context**: **Nigerian bank technology failures** pushed OPay + **[PalmPay](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/wallets/palmpay)** to leadership in **daily payments** during the **₦20.7 trillion mobile-money rush** of 2024-2025 <sup>[5][5]</sup>.

## History

**2018 — OPay launches** <sup>[2][2]</sup> as Opera browser group spin-off (Norway-listed Opera, Chinese-founder Yahui Zhou-backed).

**2021 — $400M Series C** <sup>[3][3]</sup>: Led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2, $2B valuation.

**2024-2025 — Nigerian bank-failures drove OPay to daily-payments leadership** <sup>[5][5]</sup>: ₦20.7T mobile-money rush.

**Early 2025 — 58M active users + $9.2B FY2025 tx volume + 22% NG e-wallet market share** <sup>[1][1]</sup>.

**Late 2025 — $3.1B Opera-implied valuation** <sup>[3][3]</sup>.

**2026 — $4B US IPO pending** <sup>[4][4]</sup>: Opera assigns 85% probability within 2 years.

## Ownership & operator

**Operating entity**: **OPay** (independent post-spin-off from Opera).

**Founder / chairman**: **Yahui Zhou** (Opera + Beijing Kunlun Tech chairman).

**Major investors**: **Opera (9.5% stake, $294.6M Dec 2025)**, **SoftBank Vision Fund 2**, **Sequoia China**, **Source Code Capital**, **DragonBall Capital**, **Beijing Kunlun Tech**, **Meituan-Dianping**.

**Regulators**: **CBN (Central Bank of Nigeria)** — Mobile Money Operator + Microfinance Bank license.

## Technical integration

| Layer | Description |
|---|---|
| **Channels** | OPay mobile app (iOS + Android) + OPay agent network + OPay merchant POS |
| **Identifiers** | Phone |
| **Countries active** | **Nigeria (primary, 50M+ users) + Egypt + Pakistan** |
| **License** | Mobile Money Operator + Microfinance Bank (CBN-licensed) |
| **Account model** | Mobile-money + microfinance hybrid; bank-account-equivalent for unbanked |
| **Sub-products** | OPay wallet + OWealth (savings) + OLoan + OPay POS for SMEs |

## Users & growth

**2025 baseline** <sup>[1][1], [4][4]</sup>:
- **Active users**: 58 million (FY2025)
- **Nigeria users**: 50+ million
- **Daily active users**: 10 million
- **FY2025 transaction volume**: $9.2 billion
- **Monthly transaction volume**: ~$12 billion
- **Nigerian e-wallet market share**: 22%

## Use cases

P2P transfers via OPay wallet; merchant POS payments (OPay POS for SMEs); agent banking + cash-in/cash-out; OWealth savings; OLoan microcredit; bill payments + utilities + airtime; cross-border to Egypt + Pakistan.

## Implementations & partners

**Operator**: **OPay** (independent fintech, Opera spin-off).

**Major investors**: **Opera (9.5%) + SoftBank Vision Fund 2 + Sequoia China + Source Code Capital + DragonBall Capital + Beijing Kunlun Tech + Meituan-Dianping**.

**Major Nigerian competitors**: **[PalmPay](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/wallets/palmpay)** (Nigerian rival; Transsion Holdings-backed), **[Paga](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/wallets/paga)**, **Kuda Bank** (Nigerian neobank), **[Flutterwave](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/wallets/flutterwave)** (Africa-wide payment processor), **OPay's bank competitors**: Access Bank, GTBank, Zenith Bank, UBA.

**Regulator**: **CBN**.

## Fun facts

- **2018 Opera browser group spin-off** — distinctive Chinese-Norwegian-Nigerian fintech genealogy.
- **58M active users + $9.2B FY2025 tx volume + 22% NG e-wallet market share**.
- **$12B monthly transaction volume + 10M daily active users**.
- **$3.1B end-2025 valuation** (Opera-implied) — **$4B US IPO pending (85% probability per Opera)**.
- **SoftBank Vision Fund 2-backed** ($400M Series C 2021 at $2B valuation).
- **Nigerian bank-failure context** — OPay + PalmPay won daily payments during banks' downtime.
- **Cross-border: NG (primary) + EG + PK**.

## Comparison

| Feature | OPay | [PalmPay](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/wallets/palmpay) (NG rival) | [MTN MoMo](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/mtn-momo) (multi-Africa) | [GCash](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/wallets/gcash) (PH analogous scale) | [M-Pesa](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/wallets/m-pesa) (KE/multi-Africa mobile-money pioneer) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operator | **OPay (Opera spin-off; SoftBank-backed)** | PalmPay (Transsion Holdings-backed) | MTN Group (JSE: MTN) | GCash (Globe + Ant Group + 667 Partners) | Safaricom + Vodacom |
| Type | **NG #1 mobile wallet + microfinance bank** | NG #2 mobile wallet | Multi-African mobile money | PH wallet + super-app | KE mobile-money pioneer + East Africa |
| Country | NG + EG + PK | Nigeria | 17 African | Philippines | 7+ African |
| Users | **58M + 10M DAU + 22% NG market share** | Major NG rival | 60M+ MoMo | 81M+ | 51M+ |
| Valuation | **$3.1B (Opera Dec 2025) → $4B IPO target (85% probability per Opera)** | Major NG | MTN public parent | Listed Globe Telecom + GCash separate | Safaricom public parent |
| Distinctive | **Opera spin-off; SoftBank-backed; ₦20.7T NG mobile-money rush leader** | Transsion-backed (smartphone synergy) | MTN telco-led mobile money | PH super-app + GoTyme Bank sister | KE mobile-money pioneer (2007) |

## Status

**Active, Nigeria's largest mobile wallet** <sup>[1][1], [4][4]</sup>:
- **OPay** since 2018 (Opera spin-off).
- **58M active users + 10M DAU + 22% NG e-wallet market share**.
- **$3.1B end-2025 valuation + $4B US IPO pending (85% probability per Opera)**.
- **CBN-regulated**; Nigeria (primary) + Egypt + Pakistan.

## Sources

[1]: https://techcabal.com/2025/08/25/opay-palmpay-lead-20trn-mobile-money-boom/ "OPay + PalmPay ₦20.7T mobile-money — TechCabal"
[2]: https://www.theasianbanker.com/updates-and-articles/opay-targets-unbanked-across-africa-backed-by-softbank "OPay SoftBank-backed — Asian Banker"
[3]: https://weetracker.com/2026/04/27/opera-opay-valuation-3-billion/ "OPay $3.1B valuation Opera 9.5% — WeeTracker"
[4]: https://weetracker.com/2026/05/01/opay-4-billion-us-ipo-valuation/ "OPay $4B US IPO pending — WeeTracker"
[5]: https://www.ecofinagency.com/insights/0809-48489-in-nigerian-bank-technology-failures-pushed-opay-and-palmpay-to-leadership-in-daily-payments "NG bank failures pushed OPay + PalmPay — EcofinAgency"
[ng-cro]: https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/NG

- [1] [OPay + PalmPay ₦20.7T mobile-money — TechCabal][1]
- [2] [OPay SoftBank-backed — Asian Banker][2]
- [3] [OPay $3.1B valuation — WeeTracker][3]
- [4] [OPay $4B US IPO pending — WeeTracker][4]
- [5] [NG bank failures pushed OPay — EcofinAgency][5]
- <sup>[Nigeria report](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/NG)</sup> In-corpus: `reports/countries/NG-nigeria.md`

## Source

Biography extracted from [opay.md](https://docs.barcoder.ai/source/wallets/opay). See `matrix.md` for standards-support matrix if present.