Absa Business Banking, one of Africa’s top business banks, has selected Network International (Network), a prominent facilitator of digital commerce in the Middle East and Africa, as its technology partner for digital payments.
The partnership announced on Friday will enable Network to use a fully outsourced managed services model and a single payments platform to give Absa Business Banking end-to-end payment processing capabilities.
Similar to the continent’s explosive growth in smartphone ownership, Africa’s increasing cloud adoption is driving the uptake of Payments as a Service (PaaS).
Analysts predict that cloud adoption in Africa will soon catch up to that of China and North America.
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“This new partnership marks a significant milestone for our company in Southern Africa and opens new avenues for growth and innovation. The growing adoption of cloud technologies has primed fintech and traditional financial institutions to turbo-charge digital innovation. Working with managed service providers allows institutions to quickly and simply deliver new products and services to an increasingly digitally savvy customer,” comments Richard Kadiaka, Regional Managing Director, Southern Africa – Processing Services, Network International.
Enhancing fleet and commercial card offerings
Fleet managers face a problem with fuel card fraud, which, over time, can result in significant financial losses. Simultaneously, demands for self-service card management, digitalised payment channels, and connected car concepts necessitate increased stability and innovation in this area.
Absa has partnered with Network International to improve its fleet and commercial card offerings. This partnership will provide services such as digital wallets, card tokenisation, fleet card and commercial prepaid card management, transaction switching and authorisation, integration with fleet management software, direct connectivity to Absa Bank systems, an online self-service platform, and an expense management solution.
“As the ‘Bank of the Entrepreneur,’ we are committed to delivering seamless, secure and smart payment solutions to meet our clients’ specific needs,” says Banie Claasen, Managing Executive for Lending Products at Absa Business Banking.
“By combining our deep sector expertise with Network International’s leading technology, we empower businesses with enhanced control and security, greater transparency and a frictionless payment experience. This collaboration underscores our commitment to innovation and customer-centricity.”
According to McKinsey, Africa’s financial services market is expected to grow by roughly 10 per cent annually, reaching $230 billion in revenue by 2025, as African financial institutions undergo a seismic shift. Many new payment products will be added as more businesses realise the importance of providing secure omnichannel solutions.
About Network International
Network International is a top fintech company in the Middle East and Africa. Its goal is to facilitate commerce and payments and support the expansion of economies and businesses.
It helps public-sector businesses, banks, telcos, fintechs, merchants, and governments in more than 50 countries. It serves 250+ financial institutions and 240,000+ merchants, with more than 3,000 employees in its markets.
About Absa Group Limited
One of Africa’s biggest and most diverse financial services groups, Absa Group Limited (the “Absa Group”), is listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.
The Absa Group provides a comprehensive range of banking services and products, including corporate and investment banking, insurance, wealth and investment management, and personal and business banking.
The Absa Group has insurance operations in Botswana, Kenya, Mozambique, South Africa, and Zambia. It also holds the majority of shares in banks in Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Mozambique, Seychelles, South Africa, Tanzania (Absa Bank Tanzania and National Bank of Commerce), Uganda, and Zambia.
Along with US and UK securities companies and technology support colleagues in the Czech Republic, Absa also maintains offices in China, Namibia, Nigeria, and the US.