Intelligent CIO Middle East Issue 105 | Page 69

INTELLIGENT BRANDS // Mobile Technology

Network International partners with Mastercard to tap into its global digital payment expertise

Partnership with Policybazaar . ae Partnership with Mastercard

Launched in partnership with Mastercard , the new solutions will enable Network International to tap into Mastercard ’ s global digital payment expertise including card offerings , expense management and virtual card innovations ; enabling Network International ’ s commercial clients in UAE to digitise business expenses , streamline company payables and receivables processes , enhance payment security , and improve cash flow .

The digital commercial payments landscape in the UAE is shifting , with corporate clients looking for ways to improve both payment operations and working capital , accelerating the region ’ s digital economy ambitions . The new programme aims to deliver better visibility and efficiency in commercial payment flows , simplifying transactions across a variety of spend categories ranging from day-to-day expenses and supplier payments , to managing travel expenses and other business-to-business transactions .
Nandan Mer , Group CEO of Network International commented : “ By launching the new Business Payment Solutions for the first time , Network aims to unlock further growth opportunities for businesses and corporations in the UAE . By making progressive inroads into digitisation of commercial payments , Network continues to contribute towards the UAE ’ s aspirations for a cashless economy .”
JK Khalil , Division President , East Arabia , Mastercard commented : “ We are embedding Mastercard ’ s digital payment expertise , expense management and card technologies into the new Commercial Card Programme . By combining our capabilities and reach , more companies across UAE will be able to pay and get paid quickly and securely , boosting liquidity and removing friction from the system .”
The landmark announcement follows the recent approval of Network ’ s Stored Value Facility , SVF license by the Central Bank of the UAE . In addition to its Business Payment Solutions , as an SVF licensee , Network will enable its partners and customers to support prepaid card issuing and wallet provisioning , among other capabilities .
As part of the Programme , Network will offer a range of business payment solutions targeted at merchants and general businesses in the UAE with a variety of applications and use cases .
• The Corporate Executive Card will provide businesses of all sizes with a range of benefits and robust controls for expense management .
• The Incontrol Digital Business Payments virtual card for domestic and cross-border payments will offer the first-ever net-zero foreign transactions in the UAE .
• Mastercard Wholesale Programme Digital Travel Payments , will help travel industry customers secure , streamline , and automate B2B travel payment transactions .
The solution is designed to reduce the costs for travel businesses payments through an innovative pricing model and efficiency through Mastercard ’ s virtual card technology .
Network International also announced a strategic referral partnership with Policybazaar . ae , UAE ’ s financial services aggregator . The partnership aims to offer affordable insurance policies to Network International ’ s merchant base .
With this partnership , Network ’ s merchant customers can purchase insurance policies through the Network Expense Hub portal , Network ’ s real-time payment and expense tracking dashboard . Merchants who sign up for Network Expense Hub will therefore receive value beyond payments through data solutions and value-added services .
Free of charge for Network ’ s merchant partners , the Network Expense Hub is an intuitive dashboard that allows expense management , transaction visibility through real-time reports , flexible payment options and effortless payments to multiple beneficiaries . p
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