OPay hires Citi, Deutsche, JPMorgan for $4bn US IPO

Nigeria’s leading payments platform, OPay Digital Services Ltd., has enlisted Wall Street heavyweights Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, and JPMorgan Chase to lead its planned initial public offering in the United States, according to people familiar with the matter.

The SoftBank-backed fintech is targeting a valuation of approximately $4 billion for the share sale, which could take place later in 2026, though the exact timing and size of the offering remain fluid.

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OPay, which has grown rapidly from its origins in ride-hailing and payments into a major super app serving tens of millions of users across Nigeria, is positioning itself to tap global capital markets amid renewed investor interest in African fintech.

The company has not yet filed publicly with U.S. regulators, and the banks involved declined to comment.

The move marks a significant milestone for Nigeria’s digital finance sector, which has seen explosive growth in mobile money, remittances, and embedded finance despite regulatory and macroeconomic challenges.

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A successful US listing for OPay would rank among the largest by an African tech company in recent years and could pave the way for peers such as Flutterwave and Moniepoint.

Sources cautioned that plans are still in early stages and could shift depending on market conditions.

OPay’s recent recruitment of seasoned international executives, including a former Citigroup managing director as CFO, signals preparation for the heightened governance and transparency standards required of a U.S.-listed public company.