OPay has announced it is shutting down ORide, OCar, OExpress

OPay Nigeria Thursday said it was putting on hold the operations of three of its units – ride-hailing services, ORide and OCar, and logistics service OExpress.

The payment company said harsh business conditions in the country, the ban on the operations of the commercial motorcycles, and the lockdown induced by COVID-19 pandemic badly impacted its businesses.

“Globally, ride-sharing businesses have been heavily impacted by the pandemic,” the company said in a statement on Thursday.

“But several months ago, foreseeing this issue, OPay had already taken steps to restructure our business focus away from rides.”

OPay said it has invested in and enjoying “accelerated growth” and demand for its “offline mobile money agency, and online digital payment.”

It said its offline and online payment operations grew by 44% in the first four months of 2020.

A senior official of the company also told The Guardian on the phone that the e-commerce platform – OMall – will also not be suspended.