Network International to Move Into Direct Merchant Acquiring in Egypt

Network International will launch a new payment acceptance solution for merchants in Egypt.

The company announced on Thursday (Feb. 7) that it has received approval from the Central Bank of Egypt to launch its new “direct-to-merchant” service in the country, enabling businesses to accept electronic payments from their customers online and at the point of sale (POS) using a dedicated terminal or tap-on-phone technology.

In a press release announcing the news, Network International said its move into the direct merchant-acquiring space follows over 20 years of providing outsourced merchant and issuer payment processing services to financial institutions in Egypt.

According to the release, the new service, which will be launched under Network International’s networkpay brand, will make digital payment acceptance more economically feasible for many small merchants in the country.

“We are excited to be working closely with several of our existing processing customers and the Central Bank of Egypt on our direct-to-merchant payment services,” Andrew Key, group managing director, acquiring at Network International, said in the announcement. “This is a great opportunity to further strengthen our acquiring footprint in Egypt and across Africa while helping broaden financial inclusion in the region.”

Ahmed Samir, regional managing director, acquiring, Egypt at Network International, said Egypt is an important market for Network International and a potential future growth accelerator for the business.

“Over the years, we have been successful in boosting the digital payments ecosystem … across many markets in Africa and the Middle East,” he said, adding that “we look forward to achieving the same in Egypt by serving the direct merchant acquiring space via networkpay.”

Recent developments certainly suggest Network International is focused on growth in the region.

On Wednesday, the firm announced a partnership with Mastercard that will see the two companies collaborate with the transport authority of Amman, Jordan, to build a new digital payments system for the city’s buses.

Prior to that, PYMNTS reported that Network International is in advanced talks to purchase the payment business of UAE-based bank Mashreq in a deal that could value the unit at as much as $700 million.

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