OPay has secured two major consumer awards in Lagos, winning the Most Trusted Brand (FinTech) and the Most Consumer Friendly/Innovative FinTech Brand awards.
The recognition was presented during the 5th Consumers Value Awards held on 23 September 2026 in Ikeja. The awards follow a period of rapid expansion and intense competition within the Nigerian digital payment sector.
By securing these titles, the fintech company aims to reinforce its market position and reassure its growing user base of its commitment to service reliability and technical innovation.
Competition and trust in the fintech sector
The Nigerian fintech landscape is currently defined by a race for consumer trust. As millions of Nigerians move away from traditional banking towards mobile-led solutions, the reliability of transaction processing has become a primary concern for users.
Competition from other major players, including Moniepoint and PalmPay, has forced companies to prioritise both technical stability and customer-centric features. The “Most Trusted Brand” category is significant given the industry’s ongoing battle with digital fraud and service downtimes.
OPay’s leadership, including Odiase Ikponmwosa Kolawole, Head of Partnerships, and Isimeme Ayobami Owobu, Team Director for Key Account Merchants, Retail and FMCG, attended the ceremony. The event also featured Joan Abaagu, a representative from the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC).
The company achieved this distinction by winning two consumer awards at the 5th Consumers Value Awards, reflecting its efforts to balance rapid product iteration with user-friendly interfaces.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) continues to tighten oversight on fintech providers to ensure consumer protection and systemic stability. For companies like OPay, maintaining a reputation for trust is a regulatory necessity as they expand their footprint into micro-lending and merchant-focused services.
Industry analysts note that the ability to maintain consumer-friendly operations while scaling across different demographics is a major hurdle for fintechs in Africa. Success in this area typically leads to higher user retention and a larger share of the retail payment market.
OPay is expected to leverage this momentum to expand its retail and merchant-facing services, targeting more small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across the country.
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