Ahmed El-Shanawany, managing director of Souhoola.

Network International, which provides technology-enabled payments services, has partnered with Egyptian fintech Souhoola to enable merchants to accept Buy-Now-Pay-Later (BNPL) payments using its Networkpay point-of-sale terminals.

The two companies say that the agreement will help improve access to financing for Egypt's banked and unbanked consumers.

This comes as the BNPL payment business in Egypt has made significant growth over the last year.

According to a survey by Research and Markets, BNPL payment use is predicted to increase steadily in Egypt, with a compounded annual growth rate of 29 percent between 2023 and 2028.

Network International launched Networkpay, its direct-to-merchant service in Egypt last year to offer various channels of acceptance such as face-to-face payments, digital payments, and online payments. The company claims that it has since served 2,500 merchants in the region, while Souhoola has over 130,000 users and a network of over 1,600 merchant partners.

According to the partners, by using Souhoola's BNPL option on Networkpay point-of-sale devices, clients can split their payments into flexible instalments of up to 60 months to purchase electronics, furniture, vehicles, and even school fees.

Ahmed Samir, regional managing director for Merchant Services - Egypt, Network International, said that the agreement will be positive for both retailers and consumers, and will stimulate “Egypt's payment ecosystem to become more accessible”.