THE REGION’S MOST INNOVATIVE E-PAYMENT COMPANY’S TAKE ON TECH ADVANCEMENTS: TOKENIZATION, BIOMETRICS & OPEN BANKING SOLUTIONS!

In an exclusive interview with Nandan Mer, Group CEO of Network International, the Integrator delved into the company’s pivotal role in shaping the payment landscape of the region. As the region’s most innovative electronic payments company, Network International has made significant advancements in tokenization, biometrics, and open banking solutions. Operating in 50 countries, including a recent expansion into Saudi Arabia, the UAE based company continues to extend its global reach into Saudi Arabia, Africa, and Morocco. The Integrator also examines how Network International supports Aani and enhances the digital payments ecosystem in the UAE.

How does Network International support banks and fintechs in improving their business operations and customer service through technology?

Our primary objective is to facilitate business success, encompassing banks, fintechs, merchants, and overall economic prosperity. Technology offers numerous benefits to banks and fintechs, helping them better serve their customers. This involves continuous innovation in product solutions, user experience (UX), and customer interaction. As their technology partners, we collaborate closely with them. With the 200 banks we partner with, we receive approximately 2,000 to 3,000 ideas to improve their businesses in various aspects.

Out of our team, about 1,000 members are dedicated technologists who work diligently to bring these ideas to fruition. They develop and implement technological solutions which are then provided back to the banks and fintechs. We take pride in the number of fintechs we have enabled to enter the market across the 50 markets we operate in. Fintechs are valuable to us because they bring fresh, innovative thinking and challenge the status quo in financial markets, enhancing how consumers are served by financial institutions.

Fintechs often face significant challenges with the initial investment in operations and technology. As entrepreneurs or young management teams, they must manage distribution, marketing, product quality, and more. We assist by handling the heavy lifting in operations and technology, providing these services on a per-transaction basis. This approach democratizes the cost of doing business for fintechs, enabling them to avoid substantial capital expenditure. Consequently, we have successfully onboarded numerous fintechs over the past three to five years.

How has Network International’s recent expansion into Saudi Arabia, along with the acquisition of payment companies in Africa, impacted your global operations and growth strategy?

We are a UAE-based global company currently operating in 50 countries. Our recent expansion includes a significant foray into Saudi Arabia. Until a couple of years ago, we had no business presence in Saudi Arabia. However, we have now started investing in the region, establishing our technology infrastructure locally, and creating a new company. We are proud to have a team led by talented Saudi nationals.

We have partnered with the central bank and Saudi Payments to deliver our services to Saudi banks and fintechs. Today, we have gained the trust of many Saudi fintechs and currently have 12 customers in Saudi Arabia. We are pleased with the rapid growth we have achieved. Additionally, we have been granted a direct acquiring license by the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA), making us the first foreign company to be fully licensed in the acquiring space in Saudi Arabia. This privilege and responsibility are significant, and we are committed to offering innovative services that better serve Saudi businesses and contribute to economic growth. Saudi Arabia has been a major focus, and we have invested heavily in this market.

In the past two and a half years, we have also acquired major payment companies in South Africa and Kenya, namely DPO and Payfast. Post[1]acquisition, we have scaled these companies by investing significantly in their growth and expanding them into new markets in Africa. Our latest venture is into Morocco, an exciting new market for us. Although we have been servicing Moroccan banks from outside Morocco, they have encouraged us to establish a local presence to better support their technology needs. Consequently, we have recently established our office in Morocco and are expanding our operations there in response to our ongoing discussions with Moroccan banks.

What role does Network International play in supporting Aani and enhancing the digital payments ecosystem in the UAE?

We commend the foresight and investment made by the Central Bank of the UAE in enabling capabilities such as Aani. Enabling faster payments is a crucial new service that complements card transactions, bank-to-bank payments, and more. Aani represents a significant technological advancement, and we fully embrace it. As one of the first companies in the UAE to connect to the domestic switch, we are also among the pioneers in accepting Aani at our point-of sale terminals. We highly regard this initiative, recognizing its vital role in enhancing the digital payments ecosystem in the UAE. At Network, we are committed to supporting the success of Aani in every possible way.

How does Network International utilize biometrics, such as fingerprints on terminals, and artificial intelligence to enhance security and efficiency in transactions?

The hallmark of Network International is our forward-thinking approach. We continually push the boundaries to enable faster, cheaper, and more secure technology. Biometrics play a crucial role in enhancing security. By reducing fraud in transactions, we instill greater confidence in consumers and merchants regarding electronic transaction flows. We are pleased to report that fraud levels are relatively low in the markets where we operate, thanks in part to the effective fraud prevention tools employed by ecosystem players and our continuous enhancement of these tools. Artificial intelligence significantly contributes to this effort. The role of new technologies and capabilities in making the electronic payments ecosystem more efficient cannot be overstated.

As a leader in the payment’s ecosystem in the Middle East and Africa, processing approximately $100 billion in transactions across 20 million credentials and over 100,000 merchants, we recognize our responsibility to demonstrate the value of advanced technologies. We rigorously evaluate these technologies before their launch to ensure they enhance the ecosystem’s security. However, not all technologies are adopted as expected by merchants or consumers, and it is only through experimentation and pushing boundaries that we can drive innovation. We are committed to continually experimenting and advancing the field, ensuring that we remain at the forefront of the industry.

How do you envision collaborating on blockchain technology with other companies, particularly in the realms of B2B payment solutions and SME lending solutions?

We are pleased to inform your readers that we have recently been granted the stored value license by the Central Bank of the UAE. This license enables us to offer the solutions you mentioned, which would not have been possible otherwise. This development opens new opportunities for us. In anticipation of receiving this license, we have been developing technologies and capabilities.

We are particularly excited about B2B payments, which, in terms of volume, represent a significantly larger market than B2C payments or consumer-to-institution and consumer-to-merchant transactions. These B2B payment flows are ideal for enhancements in efficiency, security, and speed. We possess the technological capabilities and the necessary experience, with many of our team members having backgrounds in B2B payments. Now that we have the required Central Bank licenses, we are fully prepared to advance in this area.

What are your thoughts on open banking with the new regulations coming in?

Open banking represents a natural progression of the efforts made by fintechs and technology disruptors. It reduces the friction in launching new products in the market. We appreciate the evolving mindset of bankers who are now embracing open banking. While a framework and technology are necessary to facilitate open banking, the core of open banking lies in forging partnerships between banks and companies. These partnerships leverage the banks’ data, historical insights, and balance sheets in meaningful ways.

The value of open banking has been demonstrated in various parts of the world. I am confident that over time, open banking will bring similar advancements in our markets, comparable to what has been achieved in Europe and parts of the US. We are learning from these markets’ experiences and tailoring our approach accordingly. We are also developing technologies to support companies leveraging open banking, enabling them to go to the market faster with better user experience (UX) and customer experience (CX) at reasonable costs. This cost-effectiveness is crucial for achieving scale, which is a key factor in the success of these initiatives