Nigeria’s apex bank, the Central Bank of Nigeria, has upgraded the operating license of Chinese payment firm OPay to a national bank status, alongside other fintech firms previously graded as microfinance and mobile money operators. 

The CBN’s decision to close the regulatory gap for these firms was long overdue. These fintechs were already serving customers across all 36 states, but their old licenses technically restricted their physical and operational scope. 

Opay, alongside Moniepoint, Palmpay, Kuda Bank and Paga, can now freely operate in all 36 states of Nigeria without any regulatory hurdle stemming from its license.

Following its new status, Opay can now open physical offices across the nation to serve its customers outside its digital ecosystem. 

The Chinese-owned payment firm has satisfied the recapitalisation requirement, which requires national status banks to meet a capital requirement of N5 billion, up from N2 billion for microfinance operators. 

New Banking Offers for Opay Customers 

Opay’s upgrade to National status comes with new offers for its millions of customers. Opay customers can now use their Opay account as a salary account, accessing savings and loan options simultaneously. 

The new status comes with a more robust regulatory framework and higher capital buffers for customer deposits, making the bank more resilient to economic shocks. Opay’s bank statement is now acceptable for Visa purposes, as the new status places it almost on par with commercial banks in Nigeria.

However, the bank still won’t accept cash deposits at its physical locations and won’t issue cheques to customers. 

From Startup to Hegemon 

Founded in 2018 by Yahui Zhou, a Chinese billionaire and the chairman of Opera Limited, OPay was launched as a mobile payment platform built on the existing Opera user base in Nigeria, utilising a $50 million investment to rapidly scale its services beyond just payments.

The company’s growth was driven by its super-app strategy, which initially included ride-hailing, food delivery and logistics. Down the line, many of these services were later suspended due to local regulations. 

OPay successfully pivoted to focus exclusively on fintech and mobile money, dominating the niche by providing Fast, reliable transfers and leveraging a massive network of local agents. 

 It became a lifeline for Nigerians, gaining significant market share during the 2023 cash crunch. 

Opay’s upgrade to a national bank marks its many years of stellar fintech services and reflects its evolution from a startup into a systemically important financial institution.