Paystack, a leading Nigerian fintech owned by Stripe, has partnered with OPay to make payments easier and more affordable for Nigerians. The new “Pay by OPay” feature allows merchants to accept payments directly from OPay accounts, cutting out the need for debit cards and the extra costs they bring.
“It’s important for businesses to offer payment methods that their customers know and trust”, said Shola Akinlade, CEO of Paystack, while explaining the company’s focus on customer convenience.
This move builds on Paystack’s success with bank transfer payments, which made up more than half of all its transactions in 2023. By working with OPay, as well as 24 Nigerian banks and other fintech firms like Kuda and PalmPay, Paystack is making it simpler for customers to pay businesses directly from their bank accounts or mobile wallets.
OPay became a household name during the 2023 cash shortage when millions of Nigerians turned to digital wallets after traditional banks struggled to handle a surge in online transactions and cash availability. According to Paystack, the new partnership promises a nearly flawless transaction success rate of 99.9999%.
“OPay will continue to build on its strength, which is modern technology, to provide our customers with cutting-edge financial service offerings,” said Dauda Gotring, OPay’s managing director.
Paystack has been reshaping Nigeria’s payment systems for years. It introduced “Pay with Bank Transfer” in 2017, a service that has grown from handling 13% of its transactions in 2021 to over 50% by the end of 2023. More recently, the company launched direct debit services through a partnership with the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement Scheme, making it even easier for customers to pay merchants directly from their bank accounts.
This partnership between Paystack and OPay is another step toward making payments quicker, cheaper, and more reliable for businesses and their customers in Nigeria. It reflects a growing shift in how Nigerians prefer to pay, leaving outdated systems behind for simpler, more trusted solutions.
