Optasia’s airtime lending business in Nigeria is back in business as mobile operators MTN, Airtel and Glo work to restore such activity after a two-month suspension. In April MTN Nigeria said it had temporarily suspended its airtime and data credit advance service as it works to comply with new laws around non-traditional lending in that country.Optasia is the company behind the airtime lending businesses of mobile operators Vodacom and MTN. In Nigeria, it is key to airtime lending activity in the market, meaning its business was affected by the halt in trading.The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission’s (FCCPC) new rules had the effect of expanding oversight of digital lending to include telecom and other providers of short-term credit. This meant companies such as MTN that advance airtime and data would be required to register and obtain new approvals to continue such operations.On Monday, the JSE-listed fintech operator said despite the suspension, its trading in the first quarter was in line with expectations, helped by continued momentum in the rest of its business.Optasia said the new regulations in Nigeria “have since been suspended by the FCCPC, pending the determination of related legal proceedings”.“The regulatory position is progressively being resolved, and the group continues to engage constructively with its partners, with a gradual recovery in transaction volumes expected over the coming months. While the suspension affected second-quarter trading, the group expects to report first-half results in line with the board’s expectations.”Elsewhere, the group, which listed on the JSE in November, said it had launched its merchant loans product for small- to medium-sized enterprises, “broadening the range of solutions” available through its platform. “The group has also continued to progress its deployment pipeline, targeting new markets to further expand Optasia’s geographic footprint,” it said in a note to investors. Optasia describes itself as “an AI-enabled fintech platform that provides microfinancing solutions and airtime credit solutions”. The company is essentially in the business of microlending across various platforms.Founded in December 2012, it has developed a network of distribution partners, including mobile network operators and financial institutions. It has access to more than 860-million mobile subscribers.It also lists India’s Airtel, Pakistan’s Jazz and Indonesia’s Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison as mobile networks that are part of its partner network.At 1pm on Monday shares in Optasia were up 0.52% to R17.51. They are, however, down 9.7% since listing.