EBANX launches OPay Direct Debit so global subscription merchants can bill Nigerian wallet users automatically

EBANX has gone live with OPay Direct Debit, a recurring payment option inside OPay's digital wallet in Nigeria, according to a 22 October 2026 announcement from the two companies. EBANX says it is the first global payments company to offer the method, which international subscription businesses can add at checkout through their existing EBANX integration. The flow is built for repeat billing. A customer authorises the merchant once in the OPay app, and the merchant can then collect later subscription charges without the customer being present or re-entering payment details. OPay continues to support one-off wallet purchases and bank transfers. The release names no Nigerian launch merchant but points to streaming services, online tools and software-as-a-service as the target sectors. OPay reports 40 million monthly active users, about one in three Nigerian adults. The release cites World Bank data putting credit card ownership at 5% of adults against 84% mobile phone penetration, and World Data Lab estimates that 95% of online spending in Nigeria comes from people without a credit card. Digital wallets and bank transfers make up 65% of e-commerce volume, according to Payment and Commerce Market Intelligence. EBANX says it now offers recurring alternative payment methods in 13 emerging markets; a similar set-up in South Africa let Canva bill subscriptions through Capitec Pay. For global digital merchants, Nigeria has been hard to serve on subscriptions because card-on-file billing reaches only a small slice of the population, and manual wallet or transfer payments have to be repeated every month. A wallet mandate that can be charged automatically closes much of that gap and makes monthly plans in Nigeria workable without depending on cards.