OPay has been around in Nigeria since 2018. However, the company started as Paycom in 2010, but it was acquired by opera group in 2013 and rebranded to OPAY in 2018. Historically, OPay has been existing in the Nigeria financial market since eleven years ago.
Many people are curious about countries where OPay currently operates in. Well, the mobile money service operates in few countries across Africa and Asia with different financial approach.
OPay currently operates in Nigeria as the leading mobile payment/mobile banking platform. In Egypt, OPay dived into the Egyptian financial landscape with prepaid card offerings. In this article, we will walk you through the list of OPay countries and it history in each of them.
List of countries using OPAY
1. Nigeria
OPAY was fully established in 2018 after the acquisition of Paycom by a software company called Opera Group, the builder and owner of opera mini browser. At that time, OPay diversified business; alongside mobile payment services, the company introduced ride-hailing services and other services including O-Food.
OPAY is now one of the leading fintech providers in Nigeria, offering mobile wallets, savings products, and payment services. It holds a 22% share of the Nigerian mobile money/mobile payment market and has the largest merchant network in the country.
Furthermore, the Chiness-backed Nigeria-based fintech company has grown its user base to over 50 million and has nearly 10 million daily active transacting users. It monthly transaction volumes exceed $12 billion, it achieved over 60% revenue growth in 2023 and its valuation now surge to $3 billions.
2. Egypt
Egypt is a strategic hub for OPay’s operations in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. OPAY was launched in the Pharaoh Land in 2021 with a focus on advancing financial inclusion, supporting Egypt’s move toward a cashless economy, and leveraging digital innovation to meet market needs.
Upon the expansion in to Egypt, the company applied for operating license from the country’s apex bank and fortunately, OPAY got approval from the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) to issue prepaid cards in collaboration with Masria Digital Payments.
Additionally, same year, OPay has announced plans to apply for a digital bank license with $60 million in capital. The $60 capital was set aside from the attainment of a $400 million successful funding round led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2.
These OPAY prepaid cards in Egypt, mainly focused on foreigners/travelers, allows holders to perform transactions and cash withdrawals without a traditional bank account. The card is linked to their OPay account and amount spent is debited automatically from their OPay wallet.
3. Pakistan
OPay entered the Pakistani market to capitalize on the country’s growing demand for digital financial services and its large unbanked population. In 2023, OPay acquired Finji - a Pakistani financial company.
The Finji acquisition gives OPay access to Finja’s ready-made Electronic Money Institution (EMI) License and Approval. This License and Approval allow OPay to offer digital wallet services, payment solutions, and other fintech services without the lengthy regulatory process of the country.
OPay is popular with mobile recharge packaged with cashback among Pakistanis. The platform also offers bill payments, Smart POS and money transfer. With the latest acquisition, OPay plans to deploy 100,000 smart POS devices to equip merchants with digital payment capabilities in the country.
4. Kenya
As part of broader expansion in Africans financial markets, OPay also established a presence in Kenya. The company partnered with Mastercard to allow Kenyans to access virtual payment solutions in the country.
Since the inception of OPAY in Kenya in 2019, it’s become one of M-Pesa competitors. Do you think OPAY will be able to over-shadow Safaricom’s M-Pesa in Kenya? Let’s know your opinion in the comments section.
5. Ghana
OPAY is currently operating in GHANA. The company OPay expanded its operations to Ghana as part of its broader strategy to enhance financial inclusion across Africa. It also aim to promote cashless economy in the West Africa country.
Conclusion
Other notable countries where OPay operate are South Africa, Tanzania, Morocco, Ethiopia, Algeria and the United Arabic Emirate. In 2022, Mastercard join hands with OPay to grow cashless economy in OPY supported countries.
The collaboration allows OPay customers, agents and merchants to engage with brands and businesses anywhere across the globe using Mastercard virtual payment solution linked to the OPay eWallet.
However, it’s important to note that OPay cannot be used to receive money from its supported countries including South Africa, Ghana, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Egypt and Pakistan to Nigeria. The company is not an International Money Transfer (IMT) company so it cannot carry out cross border payments.
In summary, the list of countries using OPAY are Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, Ethiopia, Egypt, Morocco, UAE, Tanzayand Pakistan. Follow us below to get our updates.
