Pakistan-based fintech company AdalFi has partnered with Network International to bring cash-flow-based lending capabilities onto the payments company’s platform across the Middle East and Africa (MEA). The agreement aims to connect payment transaction insights with credit assessment and lending decisions, allowing banks to identify potential borrowers among consumers and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) who may not have extensive conventional credit histories. AdalFi CEO Salman Akhtar announced the collaboration, explaining that Network’s payment ecosystem can help identify lending and cross-selling opportunities through transaction data, while AdalFi will provide cash-flow credit scoring, customer segmentation and lending decision capabilities. Network International works with more than 250 financial institutions and 240,000 merchants across over 50 countries, providing the partnership with access to an established payments network. Under the proposed model, Network will identify potential lending opportunities within payment information, while AdalFi’s analytical models will assess customer cash flows and generate credit scores. The resulting decisioning capabilities will be integrated into Network’s platform, enabling participating banks to present tailored and pre-qualified financing offers to eligible customers. Rather than relying solely on broad lending campaigns or traditional credit records, the approach is intended to use actual financial activity to help lenders assess how individuals and businesses earn, spend and manage money. The companies have not disclosed the financial terms of the agreement, the specific countries included in the initial deployment or a timeline for making the service available to customers.
The partnership is based on cash-flow lending, an approach that evaluates financial behaviour through transaction and account activity rather than depending exclusively on conventional credit bureau information. Traditional credit assessments often rely on previous borrowing, repayment records, declared income and other documented financial information. This can make it difficult for lenders to evaluate individuals and businesses with limited borrowing histories, even when their regular financial activity indicates an ability to repay. Cash-flow analysis offers another source of information by examining patterns such as incoming payments, business receipts, recurring expenses and available balances. AdalFi’s models use financial and transactional data to assess potential borrowers, generate credit scores and support lending decisions for partner institutions. In the arrangement with Network International, payment data can help identify potential customers and business financing opportunities, while AdalFi’s technology is intended to translate those insights into credit assessments and customer segments. The resulting offers can then be presented through Network’s platform at relevant points in the customer journey. This model could help participating banks identify consumers and SMEs who might otherwise remain outside conventional lending campaigns. However, the announcement does not specify the data access and consent arrangements, the precise transaction information that will be used or the credit eligibility criteria that participating banks will apply. Final lending decisions, financing terms and the provision of capital will also depend on the arrangements between the relevant lenders and customers.
For AdalFi, the agreement represents an expansion of its digital lending technology into a wider international payments ecosystem. The company develops AI-driven credit models and digital lending journeys that help banks and other financial institutions assess borrowers using deposit account information and repayment behaviour. According to its published company information, AdalFi has facilitated more than $400 million in loans, analysed over five billion transactions and served more than 150,000 unique borrowers. The company also reports a 90-day-plus past-due default rate of approximately 0.2% across its lending portfolio. These figures describe AdalFi’s wider historical platform performance and should not be interpreted as results generated through the new Network International partnership. The company has previously worked with financial institutions in Pakistan to support digital lending and credit assessment, including projects involving Allied Bank and Bank of Punjab. It has also pursued opportunities in Saudi Arabia, where it announced a separate memorandum of understanding with Saudi Finance Company in September 2026 to explore cash-flow credit scoring for consumer finance applicants through a proof of concept using regulated open banking channels. The latest Network International agreement is distinct from that arrangement, with a broader payments ecosystem and regional merchant and financial institution network forming the basis of the collaboration. It provides AdalFi with an opportunity to extend its lending technology beyond individual bank integrations and into a platform serving multiple financial institutions and merchants.
Network International’s involvement brings an established payment processing and merchant services infrastructure to the collaboration. The company operates across more than 50 countries and provides payment and fintech services to banks, merchants, governments, telecommunications companies and other organisations. Its network of financial institutions and merchants creates potential opportunities to connect payment activity with additional financial services, including credit products for consumers and businesses. The partnership also reflects a broader industry shift towards embedded finance, where lending and other financial services are integrated into platforms that customers and businesses already use. For SMEs, access to financing based on business cash flows could offer an alternative route to working capital, while consumer lending opportunities could extend to individuals with limited formal credit records. For banks, the model may provide additional ways to identify prospective borrowers and develop targeted offers using existing payment relationships. Nevertheless, the agreement does not confirm that loans are already being issued through the integrated platform or that financing will automatically become available to all merchants and consumers within Network’s network. Details regarding participating lenders, loan products, interest rates, financing limits, repayment arrangements and geographical rollout have not been announced. The collaboration nevertheless creates a pathway for combining payment intelligence with credit assessment across MEA, positioning cash-flow-based lending as an additional service within Network International’s financial technology ecosystem.
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