Lagos — Claims circulating on social media that OPay has stopped, or is planning to stop, using customers’ phone numbers as account numbers have been dismissed as false by the fintech company.
A post that went viral over the weekend stated that OPay was “no longer using phone numbers as account numbers” and was now issuing standard bank-style account numbers. The post urged customers still using their phone numbers as OPay account numbers to visit an OPay agent to update their details.
An OPay official who spoke on condition of anonymity told Premium Times the claim was inaccurate. The official said any major changes to the company’s account system would be communicated through official channels. “I have seen the tweet. But even from the comments you will see people are already correcting him. If we have any update or news, we will always share through our communication channels,” the official said.
OPay’s official X account also addressed the rumour directly. In replies to users who asked about the claim, the company stated: “Please disregard any false or misleading information circulating about OPay not using the phone number as the account number again. Kindly rely only on information shared through our official communication channels.” In another response, OPay confirmed that it “still uses phone numbers as wallet account numbers” and that customers do not need to visit agents to upgrade or change their account numbers.
The company indicated that the confusion may have arisen from its My BizPayment feature. This service allows users with business needs to generate a separate merchant account number linked to their existing OPay wallet for business-related transactions. Officials stressed that the availability of this merchant number does not replace or discontinue the phone-number-based account details used by regular customers.
There has been no official announcement from OPay indicating that it is considering or implementing a shift away from phone numbers as account numbers for ordinary users. The company continues to operate its standard wallet system in which the last 10 digits of a customer’s registered phone number serve as the account number.
OPay urged the public to verify information only through its official communication channels and warned against acting on unverified social media posts about its services.
About the Author
