Standard Bank invests R3 billion in payment giant listing in the United States

SoftBank-backed OPay secured about $185 million (R3 billion) in a private placement with Africa’s biggest bank as it prepares to list in the US. 

The Nigeria-focused financial technology company signed two agreements with Standard Bank, including a stake sale through a private placement and the appointment of the lender’s Africa head, Lungisa Fuzile, to the board of directors.

This is according to the prospectus seen by Bloomberg and filed Friday. 

The final size of the placement hinges on currency fluctuations, as does the size of Standard’s holding, which won’t exceed 4.99%. 

OPay and Standard Bank plan to work on services including merchant acquisition, distribution of wealth products and foreign exchange, according to a non-binding memorandum between the parties.

The plan is for OPay to do an initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange, with a later listing on the Nigerian Exchange, the document showed. 

Africa is home to the youngest and fastest-growing population in the world, and large segments of the continent’s population have had little access to formal banking services. 

Building physical branch networks across vast geographies proved expensive, leaving millions reliant on cash transactions.

Fintechs and mobile money companies have been bridging that gap and encouraging more people to participate in the formal economy.

OPay, which has more than 50 million active monthly users, is using Citigroup, Deutsche Bank and Standard Bank for the listing, according to the filing. 

The additional capital will support OPay’s growth efforts in Africa and accelerate investments in its payments infrastructure.

Standard Bank’s involvement in the deal shows the growing convergence between traditional lenders and fintech firms.

Banks that once viewed digital challengers as competitors are seeking exposure to businesses that have become critical financial infrastructure across Africa.

OPay’s revenue more than doubled to $806 million (R13.3 billion) in the year through June, with the bulk coming from Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation.

It also operates in Egypt, Pakistan and Indonesia. 

OPay’s planned stock-market debut will add to a growing pipeline of African financial-technology businesses that are going public, with Airtel Money also listing on the London Stock Exchange on Friday at about $7 billion in value. 

A number of other fintechs have scaled their platforms, starting from Nigeria, including Flutterwave, PalmPay, and Moniepoint.

As the fintech sector matures, companies are rapidly evolving from startups to some of the continent’s biggest businesses.