Optasia has secured US$330 million (R5.4 billion) in refinancing and advanced loan facilities, with Standard Bank acting as joint mandatory lead arranger and underwriter in a deal that deepens the banking group's relationship with the JSE-listed fintech.
The facilities include a $180 million term loan and a $150 million bank guarantee, and are designed to support Optasia's expansion as it pivots from its core airtime advance business to AI-powered lending for the formal banking sector.
Transaction arrives barely two weeks later FirstRand increases its stake in Optasia to 26.1%It is spending R1.5 billion to acquire an additional 6% stake from founder Basim Haider. FirstRand first invested in Optasia in October 2025 ahead of the company's JSE listing – the largest fintech listing on the exchange last year.
Overall, both deals represent an unusually rapid accumulation of institutional support from South Africa's largest banking groups for a company that has been publicly listed for less than a year.
The interest from both banks appears to be linked to Optasia's shift beyond its core business of airtime advances to mobile operators.
The CEO speaking to TechCentral at the opening of the company's Johannesburg office last month salvador anglaida The formal banking sector is described as “Big Opportunity” As for the development, Optasia, an AI-powered credit-weighting algorithm built for mobile wallet transactions, can be directly applied to help banks increase lending while reducing default rates.
AI led loan model
Anglada said Optasia's microfinancing business has begun to overtake airtime advances as a revenue driver – a shift that makes the company a more strategic proposition for banking partners that want to expand lending to underserved areas.
The $330 million refinancing provides Optasia with the type of flexible, long-term capital structure it needs to fund expansion into many emerging markets. Standard Bank said the deal was structured to increase funding certainty, expand capacity and provide long-term flexibility as the company scales.
Optasia operates in emerging markets, using AI-powered models to provide financial services to underbanked populations. The African fintech market – led by South Africa, Nigeria, Egypt and Kenya – is projected to grow to $65 billion by 2030, according to a report by BDO.
Reading: Optasia wants to do for banks what it did for telecom companies
The speed with which Optasia is attracting institutional capital shows that the market views its AI-based lending model as one of the more credible bets in Africa’s fintech sector. Whether the company can convert that support into sustained growth beyond airtime advances will determine whether the banks' faith is well placed. – (c) 2026 NewsCentral Media
Get breaking news from TechCentral on WhatsApp. Sign up here.