“Opay is about to close down” – Prophet send warnings to customers

A viral prophecy claiming that mobile payments firm Opay will shut down between December and January and that users will “wake one day to find their money in their Opay account gone” has sparked attention on social media, but both the company and regulators say there is no evidence to support the claim.

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The prophecy, widely shared in X (formerly Twitter) and WhatsApp groups, reads in part: “Opay is about to close down. Opay is a r!tŭāl. Everybody will wake one day to find their money in their Opay account gone. It’s going to happen between December to January next year.”

“Opay is about to close down. Opay is a r!tŭāl. Everybody will wake one day to find their money in their Opay account gone. It’s going to happen between December to January next year.”

— Prophet prophesied. pic.twitter.com/CPvKh2J8xu

— 𝐀𝐬𝐚𝐤𝐲𝐆𝐑𝐍 (@AsakyGRN) October 27, 2025

Ignore the rumours, funds are safe – Opay

Opay and Nigeria’s financial authorities have repeatedly pushed back against similar rumours in the past.

The company has issued statements in 2025 calling viral shutdown claims “baseless social media misinformation” and reassuring customers that its operations were running normally. Opay has also reminded users that it is regulated under existing Nigerian payments rules.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the regulator responsible for payment service providers, maintains a supervisory framework for fintechs and payment service providers and has in the past debunked viral claims about suspension of operations at fintech firms.

Fact-checking organisations and the CBN have previously described similar posts as false.