OPay has re-adjusted its transaction fees and customers are not happy with it

OPay has increased its charges from N10 flat rate to N45 and introduced 1% fee on subsequent transfers.
On Wednesday, OPay users on social media described the move as a manipulative, claiming 'no adequate information' was given for the new increase..
Iniabasi Akpan, Country Manager at Opay, says the move will improve financial inclusion through peer-to-peer transactions on the app.

Barely 4 months after reducing transaction charges to N10 from initial N32, OPay has reviewed its fee upward to N45.

In July 2019, the payment platform introduced all-inclusive N10 fees on all transactions on its wallet to all Nigerian bank accounts.

The platform had said the plan was to increase financial inclusion and bring unbanked population into the financial space.

But like the noise during the reduction to N10, Nigerians are not chilling with OPay for jacking up its transaction fee to N45 'without adequate information'. First, OPay increased fees to 2% and later reduced to 1%.

On Tuesday, November 5th, 2019, OPay informed its customers that it will start charging N45 for the first transaction fee and went ahead to sealed it with a 1% charge on a subsequent transaction.

“We have now reviewed our bank transfer fees and from 6 AM tomorrow, the fee for our bank transfers will be N45 for the first transaction of the day and 1% for subsequent ones. Again, we apologise. Thank you for your understanding,” the platform tweeted via its official handle.

What does this mean for OPay users?

N45 for the first transaction: This is a one-off charge for the first transaction in a day. For instance, if you transfer (withdraw) cash from your OPay wallet to your bank, you will be charged N45 for the transaction.
1% subsequent transaction: Any other transaction (withdrawal) in the day attract a fee of 1%. This means that if your second withdrawal is N50,000, you will pay N500 for the withdrawal.

Nigerian regulator urges OPay to be transparent

Babatunde Irukera, the Director-General/Chief Executive Officer, Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), urged Opay to be more transparent and provide sufficient clarity in handling fees and charges.

Babatunde Irukera, the Director-General/Chief Executive Officer, Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission Pulse Nigeria

Why the new increase

The new 1% transaction fee on other subsequent transactions is way beyond the traditional banking charges. For instance, GTBank's peer-to-peer withdrawal is free while transfer to other banks attract N52.50 and the same for most of the Nigerian banks. The rate is fixed at other subsequent transactions in a day.

Iniabasi Akpan - Country Manager - OPay Nigeria (LInkedIn) LinkedIn/Iniabasi Akpan

Iniabasi Akpan, Country Manager at Opay, says the move is to improve financial inclusion through peer-to-peer transactions.

Akpan said the Opera's super app is trying to encourage customers to use the POS feature on the app for withdrawal instead of third party transfers.The move, according to him, will encourage OPay users to use the platform's wallet and patronise POS agents for withdrawal which is free, he told Business Insider SSA on Wednesday.