Network International Review

Network International is a Dubai-based payments company. It acquires card payments for merchants in the UAE through its own N-Genius POS terminals, SoftPOS apps and the N-Genius Online gateway, and it processes cards for banks across the Middle East and Africa. The company was set up in 1994 as a subsidiary of the bank group now called Emirates NBD. It listed in London in 2019, was taken private by a Brookfield-led group on 17 September 2024, and merged with the UAE payments company Magnati on 1 October 2025. Network said then that the two brands would co-exist for the time being, and Network International is still sold under its own name as of October 2026. Merchant pricing is not published: you get a quote, and the merchant agreement adds fees on top of the per-transaction rate, such as terminal rent, a minimum-volume fee for months with card sales of AED 20,000 or less and a fee for daily statements. All fees are charged plus 5% VAT. The UAE merchant agreement (February 2025 version) is strict. It runs for 36 months, renews automatically for another 36 unless you give three months' notice, makes Network your exclusive provider, and charges a business that leaves early at least AED 25,000. Network can also hold settlement funds for up to 540 days after delivery or termination. The product range is broad and support runs 24/7 in the UAE. However, all 22 Trustpilot reviews are one-star, and they mostly describe hidden charges and held funds.

What Network International is

Network International is a Dubai-based payments company with two businesses. For merchants, it is a card acquirer: it signs the merchant up, supplies N-Genius terminals, SoftPOS apps and the N-Genius Online gateway, and settles card sales into the merchant's bank account. For banks, fintechs and telcos, it is an outsourced card processor that issues and manages cards on their behalf. The company says it was set up in 1994 as a subsidiary of the bank group now known as Emirates NBD, began operating as a standalone business between 2011 and 2015, and expanded across the GCC and Africa. Its acquisitions included EMP, DPO Pay and Payfast. As of October 2026, Network says it serves more than 240,000 merchants and more than 250 financial institutions across 50+ countries. A self-onboarding page puts its UAE merchant count at over 140,000 and calls it the region's largest merchant acquirer by volume, citing the 2023 Nilson Report.

Ownership: Brookfield and the Magnati merger

Network International Holdings plc listed on the London Stock Exchange in April 2019. On 9 June 2023 it agreed a recommended cash takeover by BCP VI Neptune Bidco Holdings Limited, an entity indirectly owned by Brookfield Business Partners together with private equity funds managed or advised by Brookfield Asset Management. The scheme of arrangement took effect on 17 September 2024; the shares were suspended from trading that morning and cancellation of the London listing was applied for. On 1 October 2025 Network completed a merger with Magnati, another UAE payment solutions provider, under the ownership of a Brookfield-led consortium. The merged company is called Network International LLC. The press release says the two will integrate in phases and that their brands will 'continue to co-exist for the time being'. As of October 2026, Network International is still a live brand that a merchant can sign up with directly. Murat Cagri Suzer is Group CEO.

Why we list it as a platform (acquirer)

The UAE merchant agreement is signed between the merchant and Network International LLC, which states on every page that it is licensed by the Central Bank of the UAE. Network authorises, processes and settles transactions itself, supplies and owns the terminals, and runs its own gateway and processing platform. No ISO, reseller or payment facilitator sits between the merchant and the acquirer, so we classify it as an acquirer, which this site lists under Platform. It is not a gateway reseller, and it is not a merchant of record, because sales are made in the merchant's own name and settled to the merchant's own bank account.

What it costs

Network does not publish merchant pricing for POS, SoftPOS or N-Genius Online. Rates are quoted per account, and the actual fees are set out in each merchant's application form. Its N-Genius Online page promises 'customized fee structures' and no hidden maintenance costs. Its POS FAQ says charges usually consist of a one-time setup fee, a monthly rental or maintenance fee and a per-transaction commission. Network's own merchant FAQ and agreement list the charges that can appear on a statement:

• Merchant service commission on each transaction, quoted per account.
• Minimum-volume (fall-below) fee in any calendar month with card sales of AED 20,000 or less. The amount is set in your application.
• Terminal rent, monthly or yearly. The FAQ says that where a first terminal was bought for a one-time payment, additional terminals are usually rented.
• A fee for daily statements. Monthly statements are free on written request.
• Chargeback, fallback, setup or onboarding and MIS fees, which appear as lines on the sample tax invoice.
• Optional SmartView dashboard and Smart Bundle fees. Smart Bundle covers terminal replacement, data, paper rolls and accessories, and priority service.
• A fixed-fee option, described in the FAQ, of AED 229 plus VAT a month for every AED 10,000 processed. It covers the service, transaction and refund fees and Smart Bundle.
• All fees are exclusive of VAT, so 5% is added. The FAQ notes VAT is applied at transaction level.

The fixed-fee option works out to 2.29% of volume before VAT. A business processing AED 50,000 a month would pay AED 1,145 plus AED 57.25 VAT. Treat that as the FAQ's description of an option, not a published rate card, and get a written quote. Two contract points affect price over time. The agreement lets Network raise fees or add new ones on 30 days' notice (clause 3.5); its FAQ says 14 days, in an answer that appears to refer to an older version of the agreement. And the UAE Central Bank capped interchange on consumer debit and prepaid cards from 1 October 2024, at 0.75% in-store and 1.00% online for standard debit cards, subject to per-transaction maximums. Network publishes that notice on its site, so a business with mostly debit card sales should ask how its rate reflects it.

How it works

Merchants can apply online through Network's self-onboarding flow or request a sales call. For a UAE POS account, Network asks for a trade licence, the authorised signatories' passports, Emirates IDs and visas, and recent business bank statements. Settlement goes to an account with a UAE-licensed bank, or a foreign bank Network agrees to in writing. In store, the N-Genius Android terminal and the smaller Network Mini POS accept cards, wallets, QR payments, bank Easy Payment Plans and Slice by Network instalments. They can also send pay links. The My Network app adds Tap to Pay on iPhone and an Android SoftPOS, real-time settlement tracking and access to financing. Online, N-Genius Online offers hosted pages, SDKs, a direct API, a virtual terminal and plugins for the major cart platforms. It supports the UAE's domestic Jaywan card scheme and Aani instant payments, and since July 2026 Network has sold a single integration for card and local-scheme acceptance in Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman. In Saudi Arabia, its Saudi company offers N-Genius Online with mada.

Contract terms

The UAE General Terms and Conditions (80 pages, February 2025 version) are among the most restrictive merchant terms we have reviewed. A business merchant's agreement runs for 36 months from the effective date and renews automatically for further 36-month terms unless you send written notice at least three months before expiry (clause 21.1). The agreement makes Network your exclusive provider of the services for the term (clause 2.2). If you end the agreement early, or appoint another provider for the same or similar services, you owe a termination fee equal to the greater of AED 25,000 or the fees for the rest of the term, calculated from the previous 12 months' fees (clause 21.3(iii)). Network may debit that from your bank account. The fee does not apply if Network ends the agreement for convenience, or if you terminate because Network committed a material breach and did not fix it within 30 days. Network can end the agreement on 60 days' notice for convenience, or immediately for suspected fraud, reputational risk, PCI DSS non-compliance, a scheme or regulator instruction, or chargebacks it considers excessive. An account that has processed nothing six months after its start date can be suspended, and one inactive for 12 months terminates automatically, with the termination fee chargeable at Network's discretion. Merchants who qualify as consumers under the Central Bank of the UAE's consumer protection rules get a five-business-day cooling-off period and can then terminate on 60 days' notice; the fee for terminating before the term ends applies only to non-consumers, although appointing another provider triggers it for any merchant. Disputes go first to the two parties' CEOs and then to the DIFC Courts (clause 26).

Settlement, holds and chargebacks

Network settles card sales to your bank account at the funding frequency in your application, and it can change that frequency on notice. It publishes no standard settlement time, so confirm it in your contract. Network MAX, launched with Mastercard in September 2026, gives SMEs instant access to settlement funds through the My Network app, but Network has not published what it costs. The agreement gives Network wide powers over your money. It can delay, withhold or retain settlement and offset it against chargebacks, fees, refunds and collateral. It holds a lien over sale proceeds. It can keep held amounts for up to 540 days after delivery of goods or termination (clause 9.8), or until the chargeback window ends if that is sooner. It can require a collateral deposit or a bank guarantee from a UAE bank, at your cost, and increase it on its own risk assessment. Chargebacks are debited without Network being obliged to challenge them, and refunds are not sent to the card schemes if your account lacks the balance to cover them. Network's FAQ gives an average refund turnaround of two working days.

Reputation and complaints

Network is a long-established, regulated institution and a major processor for banks in the region. Merchant sentiment online is poor, though the sample is small. As of 30 October 2026, its Trustpilot profile, which Network has not claimed, shows a TrustScore of 1.6 from 22 reviews, all of them one-star, the most recent posted in September 2026. Recurring themes are charges the merchant did not expect, funds held for long periods, slow account activation and unresponsive relationship managers. Network's own FAQ answers the question 'I have been charged additional fees but I was not made aware of this when signing the agreement' by pointing to the agreement's fee clause. Network publishes a customer charter and a complaints process. Complaints are acknowledged within two working days, with a target resolution of seven working days. You can escalate to complaints@network.global and then to the Central Bank of the UAE's Sanadak service. Our searches found no lawsuit or regulatory enforcement action naming Network International.

Who should use Network International

Network International fits an established UAE business with steady card volume that wants a large, regulated local acquirer for in-store and online payments, broad acceptance including Jaywan and Aani, instalments at the till and 24/7 local support. It is a poor fit for a new, small or seasonal business. A month under AED 20,000 triggers the minimum-volume fee, and the 36-month auto-renewing term and AED 25,000 minimum exit fee make a wrong choice expensive to undo. Before signing, get the complete fee schedule in writing, including commission by card type, terminal rent, the minimum-volume fee, statement and chargeback fees and the settlement frequency. Ask whether the 36-month term, the renewal and the exclusivity clause can be shortened or removed. Diarise the non-renewal deadline three months before the term ends.