JOHANNESBURG, 12 October 2026 – Standard Bank Group announced on Monday that it had signed a subscription agreement to invest in OPay, a digital financial services platform with a strong presence in Nigeria, as the company plans a listing on the New York Stock Exchange.

The final amount has not yet been set. However, the registration statement filed by OPay with the US Securities and Exchange Commission sets a ceiling of $200 million. The investment will be limited to the lowest of three thresholds, including 0.98% of Standard Bank's eligible regulatory capital and 4.99% of OPay's capital after the offering.

Completion is due to take place at the same time as the listing or shortly afterwards, subject to the transaction being completed and the necessary approvals being obtained. OPay filed its Form F-1 on Friday 9 October and requested the listing of American depositary receipts on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol OPAY. The number of securities and their price have not been published.

For Standard Bank, the transaction would represent less than 1% of its market capitalisation, according to the regulatory notice published on Monday in Johannesburg. The group is carrying out the transaction through Stanbic Africa Holdings.

The two companies signed a cooperation protocol on 14 August. They plan to distribute certain Standard Bank products on OPay's platform and to explore payment, credit, money transfer and merchant acquisition services. These projects remain subject to definitive agreements and validation by regulators.

The economic interest lies mainly in access to digital customers and small merchants. OPay provides payment services and other financial products to individuals and businesses, with Nigeria as its main market. Standard Bank operates in 21 African markets and seeks to expand its digital channels without replicating a physical network everywhere.

The announced investment is therefore neither a buyout of OPay nor a stock market listing that has already taken place. It depends on the success of the US offering, whose key terms have yet to be set, and does not yet guarantee the launch of the joint products mentioned by the two groups.