Optasia’s airtime lending revenue drops to 4% in Nigeria amid regulatory and competition strife

Optasia, the South African company that provides airtime credit services to most Nigerian telcos and banks, has revealed that its airtime lending revenue from the Nigerian market fell below 4% in Q2 2026. The performance is attributed to regulatory issues and increased competition. According to Optasia’s earnings report, which was released to investors on Monday, Nigeria, which is a significant market for the group, accounted for under 4% of revenue in the second quarter of 2026 due to a pause in operations. This is compared to roughly 14% of its total revenue in the entire year of 2025. In April 2026, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) introduced new rules regulating digital consumer lending services known as the Digital and Non-Traditional Consumer Lending (DEON) Rule. Digital, Electronic, Online or Non-Traditional Consumer Lending Regulations, 2025 (DEON) As airtime credit services (which involve borrowing airtime or data from telecom operators) fall under consumer lending, these services were temporarily paused nationwide to align with the new regulations. During this period, telecom operators paused the services to align with the new regulatory rules and recover their outstanding amounts from airtime lending. Amid legal battles and stakeholders’ intervention, the suspension ended gradually, with operators resuming the service at different times. On June 24, 2026, Optasia confirmed the full restoration of the airtime lending service across all its telecom operator partners in Nigeria. Optasia operates in Nigeria through Nairtime and sits behind Nigeria’s major mobile operators as the credit engine powering airtime and data loans. It provides the AI-driven lending infrastructure that MTN, Airtel and Globacom have been using for a while. The Nigerian airtime lending market is vast, with recent reports indicating that over 40 million Nigerians rely on airtime lending services, which is also valued between ₦300 and ₦400 billion, making it one of the key services offered by telecom operators. During the first three months of 2026, leading operators, MTN and Airtel, saw a combined ₦98.22 billion in airtime lending revenue. Airtel recorded ₦50.42 billion ($36.8 million) in revenue, while MTN earned ₦47.8 billion. Competition in Nigeria Optasia’s flagship solo run as the major provider of airtime lending services for Nigerian telecom operators and banks has faced a major hit. In its earnings release, the group confirmed that following the full restoration of the leading service in late June, it now operates under a multi-provider setup. This means that it now competes directly with other credit service providers in Nigeria and holds no exclusive rights with its partners. “Services are now live under a multi-provider model, with customer allocation based on performance. Multi-provider arrangements have been present in the Nigerian market for some time,” it said in its H1 2026 financial report.