Ep 53. Inside MENA’s New Payments Powerhouse:
Murat Suzer on Network International’s next chapter
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Network International’s merger with Magnati has quietly created a new payments powerhouse at the heart of the Middle East and Africa’s digital economy. In this episode of Money Majlis, Suvo Sarkar sits down with Murat Cagri Suzer, Network’s Group CEO, to unpack what that really means for banks, merchants and consumers across 50+ markets.
Murat makes a compelling case for why MENA’s USD 250B digital payments market is poised to outgrow most global peers, powered by visionary regulators, aggressive investment and demographics that are rapidly embracing cards, wallets and real-time rails. He explains why the UAE has become a cashless testbed and how that model can be exported, with care, to more cash-heavy markets across the region.
The conversation goes under the hood of the new Network-Magnati platform: a Brookfield-led private ownership structure, over USD 400B in total payment volume and a footprint spanning 250+ financial institutions, 240,000 merchants and around 20 million cardholders. Murat is candid about the advantages of being private in a capital-intensive, scale-driven business, the realities of running an acquirer with more than 60 percent market share in UAE card acquiring, and why scale is not about supernormal margins but about having the firepower to invest half a billion dollars a year in resilient infrastructure and AI.
Suvo and Murat then dive into the next frontier: AE Coin, the UAE’s Central Bank-licensed, AED-backed stablecoin, going live across Network’s POS and ecommerce rails. Murat demystifies stablecoins for everyday retailers, explains how tokenised money can sit alongside cards and account-to-account payments, and outlines the risk, chargeback and consumer protection implications. He also points to concrete product bets: using transaction data to power SME lending via partner banks, providing merchants with revenue-enhancing analytics, and helping large corporates access best-in-class fraud and security solutions across 56 markets.
The episode is also a leadership masterclass. Murat reflects on lessons from Danone and McKinsey, his time running BBVA’s 60 billion dollar US consumer bank, and leading Turkey’s largest card business through volatility and innovation. He talks about why payments are really “fast-moving consumer services,” why emotional needs matter as much as functionality in product design, and why his leadership philosophy boils down to positivity, flexibility and surrounding himself with strong people.
A lively rapid-fire round - from Istanbul’s quirky card culture to Texas barbecue and the hidden power of “member since” on a card - rounds off a conversation that blends macro trends, technology strategy and very human insights into what it takes to build a regional fintech champion.
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