Optasia Secures $330m Refinancing Led by Standard Bank

In Short

Optasia has secured a $330 million syndicated refinancing led by Standard Bank. The deal replaces existing debt and adds more headroom for growth.

What Happened

Optasia closed a $330 million syndicated financing facility with a three-year tenor, which means the lenders expect repayment over three years. The package includes a $180 million term loan, a lump-sum loan repaid on a schedule, and a $150 million working capital facility, which is flexible funding for day-to-day operations.

Rand Merchant Bank and Standard Bank acted as lead arrangers and underwriters. That means they structured the deal and guaranteed funding, then brought in other lenders. Nedbank and Absa also participated in the banking syndicate.

Optasia said the refinancing increases capacity by $105 million versus its prior arrangement. The company plans to use the facility to refinance existing borrowings and support future expansion.

The financing follows a separate capital markets move. FirstRand recently increased its stake in Optasia to 26.1%, spending R1.48 billion to buy an additional 6% from founder Bassim Haidar.

Why It Matters

This is a signal that large African banks are getting more comfortable backing fintechs at scale, not just partnering on payments. A syndicated facility of this size is typically reserved for borrowers with stable cash flows and strong reporting standards.

Optasia positions itself as an AI fintech, meaning it uses software models to predict credit risk. It processes alternative mobile data to score borrowers who lack traditional credit histories.

Optasia reported reaching 430 million users in 2025 and processing over 34 million transactions daily. It also disclosed 2025 revenue of $265.4 million and a default rate of 1.2%, figures that help explain why banks were willing to underwrite a larger refinancing.