OPay Leads Nigeria’s Fight Against Digital Fraud

Nigeria's digital payment market is booming, with mobile wallets and instant transfers becoming essential for daily economic activities. However, this rapid growth has attracted criminals, leading to an increase in digital fraud such as identity theft and account takeovers.

“

Consumers no longer judge financial platforms only by speed or convenience. They also want to know one thing: ‘Will my money remain safe?’ The answer increasingly depends on the technology behind the app.

"Consumers no longer judge financial platforms only by speed or convenience," said Elizabeth Wang, Chief Commercial Officer at OPay. "They also want to know one thing: ‘Will my money remain safe?’ The answer increasingly depends on the technology behind the app."

“

making financial services more inclusive through technology

OPay's Chief Operating Officer and Chief Technology Officer, Dotun Adekunle, explained that the company's product development starts with addressing customer frustrations. "Every feature in this story began as a customer’s frustration. Where the market said, ‘that’s just how payments work here,’ we treated it as an engineering problem waiting to be solved,” he said.

“

When people trust digital financial services, they use them more confidently. That trust becomes the foundation for economic growth, for SMEs, for families, and for the country at large.

To ensure transaction reliability, OPay has implemented redundant payment infrastructure and automatic failover systems. The company reports that 99.9 percent of transactions are successful, with an average processing time of less than one second. Adekunle noted that this speed also enhances security by reducing the time for disputes and social engineering. The platform employs a risk-based security model, triggering additional checks like facial verification for high-value transactions, new device logins, or payments made at unusual hours.

“

Every feature in this story began as a customer’s frustration. Where the market said, ‘that’s just how payments work here,’ we treated it as an engineering problem waiting to be solved.