Grace Ashiru
Airtel Africa has formed a partnership with Network International (Network), a leading digital commerce enabler across the Middle East and Africa (MEA), to enhance its payment processing capabilities.
This collaboration will provide Airtel Africa users with the convenience and ease of accessing a wide array of both traditional mobile services and new digital payment services, all through a seamless and enhanced customer experience.
Headquartered in the United Arab Emirates, Network International operates in over 50 countries, including 40 African nations. The company serves more than 200 financial institutions and processes over 1.6 billion transactions annually. Network International’s extensive experience in the African market makes it a valuable partner for Airtel Africa.
Airtel Africa operates in 14 countries across the continent, with a primary focus on Central and West Africa. The company currently serves over 140 million customers in these markets, including more than 36 million users of its Airtel Money platform. Network International will enhance its services in major Airtel Africa countries, providing a comprehensive range of services such as card issuance and technical support. These services encompass transaction processing, card hosting and management, online fraud prevention, internal reconciliation and settlement, and online access for Airtel users.
“We are excited to join forces with Network International to boost our payment processing capabilities. This partnership will allow us to offer an enhanced customer experience and promote digital financial inclusion throughout Africa,” expressed Ian Ferrao, Group CEO of Airtel Money, as he shared his enthusiasm about the collaboration. He also emphasized that Network International’s extensive knowledge of the African market would assist Airtel in innovating and expanding its services more effectively.
Network International stated that their solution would enable Airtel’s subscribers to seamlessly access both traditional mobile services and new digital payment services.
“Our partnership with Airtel signifies a significant achievement for our outsourced payment services in Africa. It showcases our capability to effectively serve Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) with our comprehensive processing solutions, reaffirming our unwavering dedication to the African region. We are thrilled to bolster Airtel’s growth strategy and support its business development initiatives across the entire continent,” stated Dr. Reda Helal, Group Managing Director of Processing in Africa and Co-Head of Group Processing at Network International.
