12% adults have access to formal banking
World Bank study suggests only only 24 million people hold bank accounts.
KARACHI:
A World Bank study has suggested that only 12 per cent of the adult population of Pakistan has access to formal banking services, while only 24 million people hold bank accounts, according to Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) Chairman Dr Mohammed Yaseen.
Addressing the 4th International Mobile Commerce Conference 2011 on Wednesday, Yaseen said that today, only technology in Pakistan can bridge the digital divide.
He said that mobile money was still in its emerging phases and there was consensus that regulations must be designed and implemented gradually as the industry expands and matures – an approach that seeks to respond to risks in the mobile money space as they emerge. “Our regulatory responses should then be proportional to the risks,” he added.
Yaseen, who was selected as the best telecom leader for the year 2010, received the award for “Visionary Telecom Leader 2010” at the conference.
He said that PTA has been working with the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on third party regulations added, “We should be able to come up with these regulations this year.”
Considering the scope of the telecom industry, he said the introduction of third party payment networks, also known as mobile payment service providers (MPSP), would be of immense advantage since these third party payment handling agents can work with many providers, rather than the closed networks.
“We foresee opportunities for service providers (both from banks and mobile sector), especially if they can establish shared networks of third party agents,” he added.
Yaseen said that another critical concern will be consumer trust. Consumer protection is critically important in the mobile money space. The need will become even more pressing as the industry expands into unbanked segments, he said.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 17th, 2011.
A World Bank study has suggested that only 12 per cent of the adult population of Pakistan has access to formal banking services, while only 24 million people hold bank accounts, according to Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) Chairman Dr Mohammed Yaseen.
Addressing the 4th International Mobile Commerce Conference 2011 on Wednesday, Yaseen said that today, only technology in Pakistan can bridge the digital divide.
He said that mobile money was still in its emerging phases and there was consensus that regulations must be designed and implemented gradually as the industry expands and matures – an approach that seeks to respond to risks in the mobile money space as they emerge. “Our regulatory responses should then be proportional to the risks,” he added.
Yaseen, who was selected as the best telecom leader for the year 2010, received the award for “Visionary Telecom Leader 2010” at the conference.
He said that PTA has been working with the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on third party regulations added, “We should be able to come up with these regulations this year.”
Considering the scope of the telecom industry, he said the introduction of third party payment networks, also known as mobile payment service providers (MPSP), would be of immense advantage since these third party payment handling agents can work with many providers, rather than the closed networks.
“We foresee opportunities for service providers (both from banks and mobile sector), especially if they can establish shared networks of third party agents,” he added.
Yaseen said that another critical concern will be consumer trust. Consumer protection is critically important in the mobile money space. The need will become even more pressing as the industry expands into unbanked segments, he said.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 17th, 2011.