Dubai-based Network International’s cloud-based integrated digital payment suite, Network One, is now onboarding South African banks, MNOs and fintechs.
In addition to the R500-million investment in the on-soil platform, the company has now announced an additional R60-million investment in a payment switch (online payment transactions routing and authorisation system).
Network International’s group CEO Nandan Mer says the company has been part of the South African business community for the better part of 16 years and plans to use its local tenure to further accelerate its plans for the southern Africa region.
“The latest investment is integral to the company’s continued commitment to the country and continent. Our acquisition of DPO, an e-commerce provider across the African market, gave us the confidence to take the next step with our R500-million platform investment just 18 months later. This next R60-million investment shows how we are stepping things up a notch and moving Network into the payment services fast lane,” Mer says.
Among the first South African customers on Network’s new tier one payments platform are a major MNO and multinational commercial banks.
The new payment switch is due to go live in 2024, and is expected to ensure scalability and continuity of the platform in South Africa’s high-transaction volume market.
According to BCG, payment revenues in MEA are forecast to grow 8,3% from 2021, reaching $2,2-trillion by 2026. Electronic payments are forecast to grow from 12% of POS transactions in 2021 to 21% in 2025.
“Being on the ground and understanding the nuances of what the local market really needs has helped us deliver an offering that is perfectly suited to South African businesses,” says Dr Reda Helal, group MD: processing, Africa and co-head: group processing at Network International. “Our ability to create a hub with all the necessary technology not only allows our clients to offer a better value proposition, it also allows Network to extend our offering to help deliver relevant products to the 80% of underserved consumers on the rest of the continent.”
The company has already doubled its staff complement in South Africa. In the past 10 months Network has moved from level 8 BBBEE status (in December 2022) to level 4 (in July 2023), with plans to continue improving on this in 2024.