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Optasia’s airtime lending business in Nigeria has returned to full operations after all mobile operators in the country resumed that service after a two-month suspension.“From today all operators have resumed ACS [airtime credit services] in the market,” the fintech company said in a statement on Wednesday.Mobile operators in the oil-rich Western African nation temporarily suspended their airtime and data credit advance service earlier this year to comply with new laws regarding nontraditional lending.New rules from the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) effectively expanded oversight of digital lending to include telecom and other providers of short-term credit. That meant companies such as MTN, which advance airtime and data, would be required to register and obtain fresh approval to continue such operations.”The underlying regulations remain suspended pending the outcome of the ongoing legal proceedings,” the group said in a note to investors at the time. Optasia is the company behind the airtime lending businesses of mobile operators Vodacom and MTN. In Nigeria, it is the key to airtime lending activity in the market, meaning its business was affected by the halt in trading.The group said it “has continued to support the restoration of services, which provide an important means of access to connectivity for millions of consumers in Nigeria”.“The company will continue to monitor the matter and provide further updates to shareholders as appropriate.” Despite the disruptions in Nigeria, MTN has said its trading in the first quarter was in line with expectations, helped by continued momentum in the rest of its business.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.Optasia shares were down 0.14% at R14.03 in late afternoon trade on the JSE, having spiked shortly after the news broke that its lending operations in Nigeria had been fully restored.
