Nigerian payment and financial service company, OPay, has unveiled its growth plans for 2021 and beyond following a successful 2020 business year.
Joshua Yau, Managing Vice President for OPay in Nigeria, told the media last week that “amidst the pandemic, lockdown and global uncertainty, OPay had its most impactful and transformative year in 2020.”
He further stated: “As a payment company, it grew its total gross transaction value 4.5 times to over $2 billion in December. The point-of-sale (POS) terminals deployed in its mobile money agent and merchant network represented roughly 1/5 of offline payments in Nigeria by year-end. Its mobile wallets have more than 2 million wallets with balances, totalling over $17 million.”
Country Manager, Iniabasi Akpan, said the company provided convenient access to cash and job creation, driven by innovation.
He stated: “We provided easy-to-access financial services to close to more than ten million Nigerians across the country. Our agents serve a population that is far from bank branches and ATMs, often in the outskirt of cities, suburban areas, or rural areas”.
Commenting on the company’s ride-hailing platform which was shut down in June 2020, Akpan stated: “Due to the visible brand of ORide, most people gradually gained an impression that OPay is a ride-hailing company. We just want to clarify and emphasise that OPay was and remains a payment and financial service company – a Payments Fintech. “Our businesses are licensed and regulated by Central Bank of Nigeria – like any established financial institutions – and OPay is today one of the leading Fintechs in Nigeria.”
On his part, VP, Payments Solutions and Corporate Partnerships, Oladipo Omogbenigun, revealed that OPay’s growth plans in 2021 will rely on developing and deepening their strategic partnerships in the financial ecosystem.
