DPO Group
DPO Group, doing business as DPO Pay by Network, is Africa's leading payment service provider enabling 100,000+ merchants across 20+ countries to accept card, mobile money, and bank transfer payments via a PCI DSS Level 1-certified gateway serving both SMBs and large enterprises.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2006
- HeadquartersNairobi, Kenya
- Headcount101–250
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What DPO Group does
DPO Group (legally 3G Direct Pay Holdings Limited, Ireland; Africa HQ Nairobi, Kenya) operates as Africa's leading Payment Service Provider under the brand "DPO Pay by Network," following its 2021 acquisition by Dubai-based Network International Holdings Plc. The platform enables businesses to accept online and in-person payments via credit and debit cards, mobile money (Safaricom M-PESA, Airtel, MTN MoMo, Vodacom mPesa, Orange Money, TigoPesa), bank transfers, USSD, QR codes (Easy Scan, Zapper, Snapscan), and PayPal, with PCI DSS Level 1 certification, GDPR compliance, and ISO 27001 alignment. Its core technology stack includes a cloud-based payment gateway supporting 150+ currencies with dynamic currency conversion, 3D Secure 2.0 authentication, batched card transactions, mobile SDKs (PHP, XML), and a RESTful API documented publicly at docs.dpopay.com. The product portfolio spans the DPO Pay gateway, DPO Pay Mobile app, Network POS Android terminals, Easy Scan QR, Seamless Checkout hosted pages, online invoicing, lay-by split payments, an AI-powered fraud protection module, and a centralized merchant portal.
The company operates a transaction-based revenue model with disclosed take rates of 2% on card payments (exclusive of VAT) and 0.5% on M-PESA/Airtel Money (exclusive of VAT), with no setup fees and a 180-day rolling reserve held for chargeback security. Settlement cycles differ by payment method (cards T+2, mobile money T+1) and are negotiated per merchant agreement. DPO Group serves both SMBs through self-serve online signup and enterprise customers through a direct field sales motion with dedicated account managers, regional MDs across East, West, and Southern Africa, and offices in 12 African and Middle Eastern locations plus an Irish registered office. Named enterprise customers span online travel (Booking.com, Expedia), logistics (DHL), airlines (Kenya Airways, RwandAir, Uganda Airlines), hospitality (Radisson Blu, PrideInn), banking (KCB, Equity, FNB, Ecobank), media (Nation Media Group), and delivery (Glovo). Distribution is augmented through channel partnerships with mobile network operators, banking institutions, and integration partners across 40+ e-commerce, hotel PMS, and airline GDS platforms.
DPO Group's go-to-market is anchored by a dual motion: an API-first self-serve model for SMB onboarding (with shopping cart plugins and mobile SDKs) and an enterprise field sales approach for larger merchants. The company supports over 100,000 businesses across more than 20 African countries plus the UAE. Integration breadth spans e-commerce (WooCommerce, Shopify, Magento, Wix, Prestashop, OpenCart, Ecwid, WHMCS, Odoo, NopCommerce), hotel management (SiteMinder, RoomRaccoon, NightsBridge, Littlehotelier, Staah, Profitroom, Wix Hotels), and airline passenger systems (Amadeus, Sabre, Hitit, AeroCRS, TravelPort). Strategic vertical use cases have been articulated for airlines, hotels, schools/education, and insurance premium collection. Following the 2021 acquisition by Network International, the company has been progressively re-aligned under the parent brand (DPO Pay by Network), with the email domain transition to @network.global completed in February 2024 and a full rebrand to "Network" executed by March 2026.
DPO Group firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- DPO Group
- Legal name
- 3G Direct Pay Holdings Limited
- Website
- https://dpogroup.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2006
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 101–250 employees
- Short description
- DPO Group, doing business as DPO Pay by Network, is Africa's leading payment service provider enabling 100,000+ merchants across 20+ countries to accept card, mobile money, and bank transfer payments via a PCI DSS Level 1-certified gateway serving both SMBs and large enterprises.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
DPO Group industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Payment Processing Services
- NAICS
- Financial Transactions Processing, Reserve, and Clearinghouse Activities (522320)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Merchant Payment Gateways (API/Hosted Checkout) (FSAMACAA)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Alternative Payment Methods (APMs) Enablement (BNPL, wallets, local methods) (FSAMACAE), POS, SoftPOS & In-Person Acceptance Infrastructure (FSAGABAO), Bill Pay, Invoicing & Payables Platforms (BPAMAFAF), Recurring Billing & Subscription Payments Enablement (FSAMACAF)
Keywords
Where DPO Group is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Nairobi
- HQ country
- Kenya
- HQ region
- Africa
Offices13 records
Markets served
DPO Group business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Transaction Processing Fees: Commission-based revenue from processing card and mobile money payments. Card payments charged at 2% (exclusive of VAT) for Easy Scan. M-PESA and Airtel Money charged at 0.5% (exclusive of VAT). Rolling reserve held for 180 days for security against chargebacks.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Card Payment Commission |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Mobile Money Commission |
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | No Setup Fees |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels6 records
Marketing channels5 records
DPO Group product offering
Product offeringCore offering
DPO Group (DPO Pay by Network) operates a cloud-based, PCI DSS Level 1 compliant payment gateway that enables African businesses to accept credit/debit card payments, mobile money (M-PESA, Airtel Money, MTN MoMo, Tigo Pesa, Orange Money, Vodacom), and bank transfers across 20+ countries in multiple currencies. The company sells payment acceptance infrastructure to merchants including online checkout, in-store POS terminals, mobile payment apps, QR code payments, hosted payment pages, invoicing, fraud protection, and developer APIs.
Product overview
DPO Pay by Network operates as a unified payment platform offering a comprehensive suite of payment products across Africa. The core portfolio includes the DPO Pay by Network payment gateway (the primary platform), DPO Pay Mobile (on-the-go mobile payments app), Network POS (in-store point-of-sale terminals), and Easy Scan (QR code scan-to-pay solution). These core products are supported by add-on modules including Seamless Checkout (hosted payment pages), Online Invoicing (payment link invoicing), Fraud Protection (24/7 AI-powered risk monitoring), Batched Card Transactions (bulk/subscription payments), Dynamic Currency Conversion (multi-currency support), Payment Links (send-to-customer payment requests), and Lay-by Payments (split payment functionality). Merchants access all services through the Merchant Portal/Dashboard, which provides centralized transaction management and reporting across 20+ countries.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- DPO Pay by Network Payment Gateway Africa's leading cloud-based payment service provider (PSP) and payment gateway enabling businesses to accept online payments via credit/debit cards, mobile money (M-PESA, Airtel Money, MTN MoMo, Tigo Pesa, Orange Money, Vodacom), and bank transfers across 20+ African countries with multi-currency support (150+ currencies) and PCI DSS Level 1 security.
- DPO Pay Mobile On-the-go mobile payments app enabling businesses to accept payments from mobile devices, send payment links via SMS/WhatsApp/email, generate QR codes, scan cards, view transactions and reports, and manage settlement balances with multi-user access controls.
- Network POS Terminal Android-based in-store point-of-sale terminal accepting card and mobile money payments with end-to-end encryption, quick software updates, SMS/QR/email receipts, and portable compact design supporting 4G connectivity.
- Easy Scan QR code scan-to-pay solution allowing customers to pay by scanning merchant QR codes using their phone camera, supporting both card and mobile money payments with instant transaction confirmation.
- Seamless Checkout Hosted payment page solution enabling merchants to accept online payments globally in any currency with various payment methods including credit/debit cards and mobile money, without requiring custom integration.
- Online Invoicing Invoice generation and payment link solution allowing merchants to create invoices and send payment requests to customers via email, SMS, or WhatsApp with customizable branding.
- Fraud Protection Service 24/7 AI-powered fraud prevention service with real-time risk monitoring, real-time payment confirmation, and specialist risk team oversight to protect businesses against fraudulent transactions.
- Merchant Portal/Dashboard Central merchant dashboard for managing transactions, generating reports, viewing settlement balances, handling refunds, and accessing account settings with multi-user access controls across 20+ countries.
Quantifiable outcome
- 100,000+ businesses use Network for payments across Africa
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use DPO Group
Customer profileNamed customers20 records
Segments7 records
Ideal customer profiles5 records
DPO Group technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration51 records
AI capability2 records
Feature8 records
DPO Group partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Five partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- Network International Holdings Plc.coreNetwork International acquired DPO Pay in 2021. Network International is the leading enabler of digital commerce in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region with over 25 years of experience. DPO Pay operates as a subsidiary under Network International's unified group domain.
- MastercardcoreStrategic partnership where Mastercard's payment network is integrated into Network's payment platform, enabling merchants across Africa to accept Mastercard payments. Described as an important milestone in driving financial inclusion across Africa.
- Safaricom (M-PESA)coreIntegration with Safaricom's M-PESA mobile money service, allowing merchants to accept M-PESA payments. Merchant can also use their own MPESA paybill.
- MTNcoreIntegration with MTN Mobile Money (MoMo) across Uganda, Rwanda, Zambia, Ghana, and South Africa enabling mobile money payments
- AirtelcoreIntegration with Airtel Money across multiple African countries for mobile money payment acceptance
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves8 records
Expansion highlights6 records
DPO Group competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Flutterwave: Pan-African payment gateway serving SMBs and enterprises across multiple African countries with cards, mobile money, and bank transfer acceptance. Closest direct competitor to DPO Group in the African PSP space, with overlapping product suite (payment gateway, POS, invoicing) and similar target verticals.
- Paystack: Nigeria-founded African payment gateway acquired by Stripe, offering card and bank payment processing to African businesses. Directly comparable to DPO as a developer-first payment gateway serving online merchants across Africa with API/hosted checkout products.
- Pesapal: East African payment service provider offering card, mobile money, and bank payment acceptance across Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, and Zambia. Closely comparable to DPO in geographic focus (East Africa), product set (gateway + POS + mobile money), and target SMB/enterprise segments.
- Peach Payments: African payment gateway serving online merchants with card and instant EFT processing, primarily in South Africa and Kenya. Comparable to DPO as a regional PSP offering gateway, hosted checkout, and integration plugins for eCommerce platforms.
- Cellulant: Pan-African digital payments platform operating the Tingg payment aggregator and Agrikore marketplace, with presence across 35+ African countries. Comparable to DPO as a mobile money aggregator and payment gateway serving both merchants and digital commerce platforms across multiple African markets.
Broad incumbents
- Interswitch: Largest incumbent African payments processor, providing card switching, payment gateway, and digital commerce services across multiple African countries. Comparable to DPO as a full-stack African payments platform, but with broader infrastructure footprint including Verve card scheme and Interswitch SPAK.
- Network International: Parent company of DPO Pay and the leading MEA digital commerce enabler with 25+ years of experience in issuing, acquiring, and processing. Directly comparable as the parent that owns DPO, operating complementary payment services across the Middle East and Africa.
Emerging players
- Yoco: South African payment solutions provider focused on card-accepting POS hardware and online payments for SMBs. Comparable to DPO's Network POS and SMB self-serve payment offerings, particularly in the South African market.
- iKhokha: South African fintech offering mobile POS devices and online payment acceptance primarily to SMBs. Comparable to DPO's Network POS product and SMB segment, though focused predominantly on the South African market.
Others
- Safaricom (M-PESA): Owner and operator of M-PESA, the dominant mobile money network in Kenya and Tanzania. Comparable to DPO as a critical infrastructure partner — DPO aggregates M-PESA for merchants — and as a strategic participant in the African digital payments ecosystem whose decisions directly affect DPO's mobile money volume.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
DPO Group social profiles
Digital presenceDPO Group compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance3 records
DPO Group financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
DPO Group leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles10 records
DPO Group subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries8 records
DPO Group funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds2 records
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
DPO Group M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A5 records
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about DPO Group
What does DPO Group do?
DPO Group (DPO Pay by Network) operates a cloud-based, PCI DSS Level 1 compliant payment gateway that enables African businesses to accept credit/debit card payments, mobile money (M-PESA, Airtel Money, MTN MoMo, Tigo Pesa, Orange Money, Vodacom), and bank transfers across 20+ countries in multiple currencies. The company sells payment acceptance infrastructure to merchants including online checkout, in-store POS terminals, mobile payment apps, QR code payments, hosted payment pages, invoicing, fraud protection, and developer APIs.
Is DPO Group a public or private company?
DPO Group is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was DPO Group founded?
DPO Group was founded in 2006. It employs 101 to 250 people.
Where is DPO Group based?
DPO Group is headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, in the Africa region.
How does DPO Group make money?
One revenue line is on record: transaction Processing Fees.
Who are DPO Group's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Flutterwave, Paystack, Pesapal, Peach Payments and Cellulant. Broad incumbents are Interswitch and Network International. Emerging players are Yoco and iKhokha. Safaricom (M-PESA) is listed as an others.
Does DPO Group have an API?
Yes. DPO Group offers a RESTful API for online payment processing integration. The API uses XML as the primary coding language and PHP as the secondary. SDKs are available for mobile application integration allowing developers to integrate payment processing into both web and mobile applications. The API documentation is publicly accessible at docs.dpopay.com. Developer documentation is at docs.dpopay.com/api/index.html.
What industry is DPO Group in?
DPO Group's product category is Payment Processing Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSAMACAA, Merchant Payment Gateways (API/Hosted Checkout), with a secondary code of FSAMACAE, Alternative Payment Methods (APMs) Enablement (BNPL, wallets, local methods). Its NAICS code is 522320.