Eight years on, OPay keeps Nigerian businesses moving

From helping graduates build livelihoods to making payments easier for major businesses, OPay’s eight-year journey is reflected in the everyday stories of Nigerians who rely on its solutions.

At a busy market in Sokoto, a customer walks up to an agent, makes a transfer and waits for confirmation. For Alhaji Ibrahim Alabi, moments like this have become part of his everyday life.

But behind the simple transaction is a much bigger story. A graduate who could not find a job, Alabi turned to agency banking as a way to earn a living. Today, his OPay agency business around Kara Market has become his source of income and a means of building a future.

“I was graduate without job. So, with the help of this agent banking, I could be able to achieve a normal life. I was able to build up a future,” he said.

His story captures what eight years of OPay in Nigeria means beyond technology and transactions: the opportunity for people to work, serve their communities and build livelihoods.

Across Nigeria, similar stories are emerging from agents, traders and businesses that have made OPay part of their daily operations.

For Olatunde Bhadmus, an OPay agent who started using the platform in 2019, reliability has become an important part of his relationship with customers.

“OPay supported my business in terms of the network. We don’t have a network issue that is actually giving customers that confidence in coming to my end to transact,” he said. That confidence matters in a business where every successful transaction can mean another satisfied customer.

Chinazom Akachukwu discovered OPay through social media before visiting an OPay office to obtain a terminal. For her, transaction speed has been one of the major differences.

For Esther Gift Elegbede, who started using OPay in 2021 after hearing about it from a neighbour, reliability has also helped her build trust with people around her.

“Some people say they come to my shop to withdraw just because they are sure of the network stability,” she said.

But her OPay story goes beyond transactions. After graduating and facing unemployment, she saw agency banking as an opportunity and took it. Today, she also uses features such as target savings and in-app dispute resolution to manage aspects of her business.

Her experience reflects a reality familiar to many young Nigerians. Sometimes, an opportunity does not arrive in the form of a traditional job. Sometimes, it comes as a platform that gives someone the tools to create a livelihood.

The impact of OPay’s solutions extends beyond individual agents. For businesses operating across multiple locations, the challenge is often more complex: how to collect payments efficiently, confirm transactions quickly, reduce errors and maintain visibility across branches.

At MedPlus, Executive Director of Strategy and Innovation, Ife Bakare, recalls that managing in-store payments, particularly transfers, was a major challenge before the company adopted OPay’s Smart Business Solutions.

The combination of Smart POS and transfer numbers gave MedPlus branches dedicated payment channels and real-time confirmation. Customers could make transfers and receive confirmation, while the business could use physical receipts and its OPay dashboard to track transactions and manage refunds when necessary.

For HyperCity Retail Limited, the relationship has also evolved. Deputy Financial Controller Emmanuel Gbenga Samuel said the company started with Smart POS and transfer numbers before adding OPay till integration. The solution, he said, has helped deliver faster checkout, improved operational efficiency and fewer cashier errors. The result is not just a technology upgrade. It is a better experience for people on both sides of the counter.

For Finance Business Partner at Filmhouse Group, Monsuru A. Sulyman, managing reports across different locations had once been a demanding process. The work involved aligning sales across locations, which took more time and required additional manpower.

Today, he says the service continues to improve.

“Why should I replace a working system? So there’s no point of trying to replace it. So the service keeps getting better day by day,” he said.

At Fatgbems Oil and Gas, the challenge was different. The company handles significant cash transactions, which means moving cash to the bank could entail additional security costs, time, and operational pressure. For CFO Oluwatoyin Sunmola, digital financial services brought a new level of convenience.

“We saw convenience, we saw speed, we saw time not being wasted, we saw validity in transactions, feasibility, security, risk reductions and the likes,” he said.

His experience has changed the way he views OPay.

“I don’t want to see OPay as a payment platform alone. I see them as a platform that gives an opportunity to financial strategy. Invariably, aside from the platform of payment, they are more or less like a strategic business partner that helps to build your business,” he said.

He identifies reliability, security, flexibility, reconciliation and customer service as key reasons for the relationship.

From Sokoto to Lagos and Port Harcourt, the stories may differ, but they share a common thread. People need financial services that fit into the realities of their everyday lives.

An agent needs a reliable network because a customer is waiting to withdraw money. A retailer needs a fast payment system because customers do not want to spend unnecessary time at checkout. A finance team needs accurate transaction records because every naira must be accounted for. A business handling large amounts of cash needs safer and more efficient ways to move money, and someone who has graduated without a job needs an opportunity to start building a livelihood.

For the General Manager of New Garden City Hotel in Port Harcourt, Per Stafsen, OPay provided an alternative when the hotel needed a more effective way to receive payments.

These are the moments where technology becomes personal. They are also the moments that define OPay’s eight-year journey in Nigeria.

Watch the full OPay at 8 story via https://youtu.be/LPoAypqrFoI?si=MhHz71FmzuQ-9HjV and hear directly from the people who have lived the journey.

The story is not simply about an app, a terminal or a payment platform. It is about the people standing behind the transactions. It is about the agent who found a way to build a future, the young entrepreneur who turned an opportunity into a livelihood, the customer who returns because they trust the service, the retailer who can serve customers faster, the finance team that can reconcile transactions with greater ease and the business owner who can spend less time worrying about payment processes and more time building the business.

For eight years, OPay has been part of that journey, supporting businesses, enabling livelihoods and helping Nigerians keep moving, one transaction at a time.

Eight years on, OPay keeps Nigerian businesses moving