Opay Digital Services Limited commonly called Opay, and formerly Paycom Nigeria Limited, is a fintech mobile money operating company founded by Zhou Yahui and Djxbazz in 2013 with headquarters in Ikeja, Lagos State, Nigeria.[1] It is among the four major fintech companies in Nigeria: Moniepoint Inc., Kuda, and PalmPay.[2]
History
Opay was formerly known as Paycom Nigeria limited. It was established in 2013, and licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria in 2018.[3] It was insured by the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation. In May 2019, Opay launched its Point of sale service, which was mostly dominant in Nigeria during the naira cash strike. In November 2021 Olu Akanmu was appointed the co-CEO of Opay until his resignation in 2023.[4]
In September 2021, Opay received an international funding led by Soft bank.[5] Opay extended to Egypt in 2021, and was approved by the Central Bank of Egypt as well as to issue prepaid cards.[6] In May 2022, Opay Nigeria partnered with the Verve International to enrol its verve debit card.[7]
Opay customers rallied at the company's headquarters in Lagos, over a leaked scam alert from an agent. The company however refuted this claim.[8] In 2023 Sharia court in Kano State sentenced an Opay's agent to nine months imprisonment over breach of trust and stealing from an online customer.[9]
OPay was one of the four Fintechs asked to stop onboarding of customers by the CBN in April 2024. [10] This was due to an increased scrutiny of these banks on their KYC processes. The restriction, however, was lifted in June of the same year 2024[11]
