Update on UAE Central Bank regulation

Network International Holdings Plc

Update on UAE Central Bank regulation of merchant fees

7 September 2020

Network International Holdings Plc (LSE: NETW), the leading enabler of digital commerce across the Middle East and Africa, provides an update on the regulation of fees incurred by merchants who accept digital and card transactions in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The UAE Central Bank has completed its consultation and confirmed that interchange fees charged to merchants on debit card transactions will be reduced, in line with our expectations. This will be introduced in a phased manner, with the effective date of the changes yet to be confirmed.

Interchange fees are those which are charged by the card issuing banks. There is no proposed regulation of the fees charged by acquirers, such as Network International. The reduction in interchange is a pass-through cost from Network International to merchant customers, and therefore we expect no adverse impact to our financials as a result of this change.

In the medium to longer term, we expect this will further accelerate the adoption of card and digital payment acceptance by merchants and will therefore be beneficial to our business.

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