Nigerian fintech OPay has raised about $304 million in its initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), valuing the company at roughly $4 billion. But its shares did not change hands on Friday, October 30, its planned first day of trading, after the company said it had identified an unresolved regulatory requirement in a foreign jurisdiction, according to ThisDay, Nairametrics and Bloomberg.
OPay has stressed that the pause is not a cancellation of the listing and that its operations in Nigeria are unaffected.
The IPO numbers
According to Premium Times and ThisDay, citing Reuters, OPay sold 16 million American Depositary Shares (ADSs), each representing 10 ordinary shares, at $19 apiece. That was the bottom of the $19–$21 range it had marketed to investors, according to earlier Reuters and Renaissance Capital reports. The company is listing under the ticker “OPAY”.
Before pricing, existing and new investors, including Redwheel and Coronation Africa Frontiers Fund, had indicated interest in buying up to $270 million of the shares, Reuters reported. Stanbic Africa Holdings, a Standard Bank subsidiary, agreed to invest up to $200 million in a concurrent private placement. Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, Standard Bank and China International Capital Corporation acted as joint bookrunners. SoftBank entities held a 6.6% stake before the offering.
OPay is widely described as the first major Nigeria-focused fintech to list on a US exchange, a milestone for the country’s tech ecosystem.
Why trading has not started
Company executives, including co-CEO Lars Boilesen, rang the NYSE opening bell on Friday. However, P.M. News and Nairametrics, citing Bloomberg, reported that the exchange showed a halt around 3:30pm New York time with “news pending”, and no trades had been completed. Earlier in the afternoon, the shares had been indicated to open between $16.25 and $16.75, below the $19 offer price, according to the same reports.
In a statement reported by ThisDay, OPay said it had found an outstanding requirement for a formal no-objection from a regulator in a foreign jurisdiction linked to its US listing, and that it had paused the start of trading until it is resolved. The company said the matter lies outside Nigeria’s regulatory framework and is being handled through the proper channels. It said the pause “should not be misconstrued as a cancellation” of its listing.
OPay did not name the jurisdiction or say when trading would begin. The offering was expected to close on November 2, according to Premium Times.
Who is OPay?
OPay launched in Nigeria in 2018 and was founded by Chinese entrepreneur Zhou Yahui, according to Reuters. It offers payments, transfers, savings and loans, and also operates in Egypt, Pakistan and Indonesia. The company says it has more than 50 million monthly active users and a 9.9% market share by monthly users across Africa and the Middle East, based on Frost & Sullivan data cited in its prospectus.
According to figures released at the listing, OPay reached a $1 billion annual revenue run rate in the second quarter of 2026, with revenue up 137% year on year in the first half and a 19% net margin. Renaissance Capital put its revenue for the 12 months to June 2026 at $806 million. OPay said it will use the proceeds to invest in technology and support growth in Nigeria and other African markets.
What it means and what to watch
The listing is a major test of US investor appetite for African fintech. Pricing at the bottom of the range, together with the weak indicated opening, suggests caution: Reuters linked the cautious pricing to stubborn inflation and a sell-off in AI-related stocks that has led some companies to delay listings.
For millions of Nigerian users, OPay says services continue as normal. Investors will now watch for the company’s update on the regulatory no-objection, the date trading finally begins, and where the shares open against the $19 IPO price.
Sources: ThisDay, Premium Times, Nairametrics, P.M. News, Bloomberg, Reuters, Renaissance Capital.