← Embedded Finance Index 2026

Network International

“Can the MEA region's dominant card processor evolve from acquiring/issuer-processing into a full embedded-finance platform for banks, fintechs, and merchants?”

Founded1994
HQDubai, United Arab Emirates
Latest roundBuyout/LBO (Brookfield Asset Management, 2024)
IndustryInfrastructure / Payments
The story

Founded 1994 as Emirates Bank's card-processing arm, Network International became the dominant payments processor across the Middle East and Africa via a regional acquisition strategy. After a 2019 LSE IPO, the company was taken private by Brookfield in 2024 and merged with UAE rival Magnati in 2025 to consolidate the regional payments market. The current strategic pivot is from pure acquiring/issuer-processing into embedded financial services — particularly SME merchant lending (via Biz2X, CredibleX, CBD), cross-border remittance-as-a-service, and modular issuer-processing APIs targeting banks, fintechs, and telcos.

Last 12 months
2024-09
2024-Q4
2025
2025-03
2025
Product timeline
1994
Founded as a subsidiary of Emirates Bank to provide card processing in the UAE.· banking
2010
Achieved PCI-DSS certification.· compliance
2019
Listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE: NETW).· ipo
2024
Embedded SME lending partnership with Biz2X launched; CredibleX added to digital lending marketplace.· lending
2024
Acquired by Brookfield Asset Management, taken private.· acquisition
2025
Merged operations with Magnati to form a new combined entity controlled by Brookfield-led consortium.· acquisition
Regulated entities
2
regulatory licences held by Network International
Licence types, jurisdictions and registered entities are in the Embedded Finance Index report.
The stack
7 layers disclosed in Network International’s embedded-finance stack
Payments / PSP
Network International (self-operated acquirer)N-Genius (self-operated payment gateway)Network One (proprietary issuer/merchant platform)Network Lite (proprietary platform)
Banking / BaaS
in the full report
Card issuing
in the full report
Ledger
in the full report
Lending
in the full report
FX & payouts
in the full report
Accounting
in the full report
Accounting gap: minor
15 more providers across 6 layers, with confidence-scored evidence and source URLs, are in the Embedded Finance Index report.