SoftBank-backed OPay abruptly halts its U.S. IPO, with regulatory inquiries emerging as the biggest variable.

OPay, a digital bank and fintech platform serving Nigeria and other emerging markets, has abruptly announced the suspension of its U.S. initial public offering (IPO). According to a Form 6-K filed by the company on Monday, OPay decided not to complete the IPO due to a regulatory inquiry initiated in a jurisdiction unrelated to the company's business operations. OPay said it expects the inquiry to be satisfactorily resolved in the near future, at which point the offering may be relaunched in the coming months. The IPO had originally planned to offer 16 million American Depositary Shares (ADSs) at US$19 per ADS, at the bottom of its previously stated US$19 to US$21 range, corresponding to a company valuation of approximately US$4 billion. The company had been scheduled to begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Friday under the ticker "OPAY," but ultimately failed to begin trading as scheduled. OPay said the regulatory inquiry should not be interpreted as indicating problems with the company's business performance, financial condition, operational integrity or regulatory compliance status, and emphasized that the matter will not affect its business operations and customer service in Nigeria and other markets. However, the company has not disclosed the specific regulatory authority that initiated the inquiry, the jurisdiction involved, or the relevant matter. OPay is a digital financial platform built specifically to address the challenges of emerging markets. Founded in 2018 by Chinese entrepreneur Yahui Zhou, the company initially focused on the Nigerian market and subsequently expanded into other emerging markets. Its business is not limited to mobile payments but covers digital wallets, money transfers, merchant payments, bill payments, savings and lending services. In addition to Nigeria, the company also provides loan facilitation services in Indonesia and generates a small amount of revenue in Egypt and Pakistan. Since entering the Nigerian market, OPay has grown into a leading local digital financial platform. As of July 31, 2026, OPay was the second-ranked app across all categories in Nigeria by daily active users, with approximately 50.1 million monthly active users and approximately 26.8 million daily active users. On the capital markets front, OPay raised US$400 million in 2021 in a funding round led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2, at a valuation of approximately US$2 billion. SoftBank-related entities held approximately 6.6% of OPay's shares prior to this IPO. The U.S. IPO had been expected to value the company at approximately US$4 billion, double its valuation at the time of the 2021 funding round. In terms of operating performance, OPay has maintained rapid growth in recent years. The company generated revenue of approximately US$536 million and net profit of approximately US$72.5 million in 2025; in the first half of 2026, revenue further increased to US$467.1 million, and net profit reached US$90.9 million, a substantial increase from US$21.7 million in the same period a year earlier. Its IPO prospectus shows that Nigeria remains the company's most important source of revenue. The listing had been an important case of an African fintech company entering the U.S. capital markets and also offered early investors a potential exit channel. The abrupt halt of the IPO after pricing not only adds uncertainty to OPay's listing plans but also keeps the market focused on the specific content of the relevant regulatory inquiry and its subsequent impact. Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, Standard Bank and CICC served as joint bookrunners for the transaction.