Mintoak has acquired Dubai headquartered fintech company ICC Loyalty in a deal that expands the payments technology company’s presence across Africa, the Middle East, Eastern Europe and Asia.
The acquisition marks a major step in Mintoak’s strategy to move beyond merchant payments and value added services into customer engagement, loyalty, rewards and data driven banking solutions.
ICC Loyalty provides loyalty and rewards technology to more than 30 banks. Its platform enables financial institutions to deliver personalised rewards, targeted campaigns and customer engagement programmes designed to increase retention and transaction frequency.
The company currently serves more than 11 million customers across more than 10 countries, giving Mintoak access to a sizeable customer engagement ecosystem across emerging markets.
For banks, the strategic opportunity extends beyond processing transactions. Mintoak and ICC Loyalty are positioning their combined platform to connect merchants, consumers and payment data through a single technology environment.
This could give banks greater opportunities to strengthen customer relationships while creating additional sources of recurring revenue.
Raman Khanduja, Co founder and Chief Executive Officer of Mintoak, said the acquisition reflects a broader shift in the financial services industry, where payments are increasingly becoming the foundation for deeper customer engagement.
The combined business generates more than US$30 million in annual revenue and has a profitability margin exceeding 30 percent. The financial position provides a foundation for continued investment in technology, artificial intelligence and international expansion.
For African financial institutions, the development is particularly significant as banks across the continent continue to invest in digital payments, merchant services and customer engagement platforms.
Mintoak already works with more than 50 banks across more than 20 countries. Its financial institution network includes Absa Bank in Africa, Emirates Islamic and RAKBANK in the Middle East, as well as HDFC Bank, Axis Bank and SBI Payments in India.
The company’s platform supports more than 5 million merchants and 11 million customers while processing more than US$93 billion in annual payment volume.
The acquisition also expands Mintoak’s capabilities across both acquiring and issuing businesses. That broader positioning could become increasingly valuable as banks search for technology that can serve merchants and consumers through interconnected platforms.
Amit Narang, Co founder and Chief Executive Officer of ICC Loyalty, said the combination would allow the company to integrate Mintoak’s artificial intelligence and platform capabilities into its loyalty ecosystem.
The objective is to deliver greater personalisation while helping banks measure the commercial impact of customer engagement.
The move comes as the global payments industry enters a more competitive phase. As payment infrastructure becomes increasingly standardised, financial technology companies are looking for new ways to create value through intelligence, engagement and monetisation.
For African banks, the shift presents both an opportunity and a strategic challenge. Transaction growth remains important, but the next stage of digital banking will increasingly depend on how effectively institutions turn transaction data into stronger customer relationships.
Mintoak’s acquisition of ICC Loyalty signals that the battle for value in emerging market financial services is moving beyond payments. The companies are betting that loyalty, data and personalised engagement will become central to how banks grow revenue and retain customers.
For Africa’s financial institutions, that evolution could accelerate investment in platforms that bring payments, customer intelligence and engagement into one ecosystem.
