Three players to enter Pakistan’s online payments space

This will allow transactions across all mobile wallet accounts

KARACHI: At least three fintechs are set to capitalise on the rapidly growing financial sector of Pakistan, targeting an entry in the country’s market, according to the central bank.

FonePay, Monet and TPL Rupya are entering Pakistan’s financial market, said a quarterly report of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), hinting at a rise in the business-to-consumer e-Commerce (e-B2C). Growing incomes, coupled with advancement in communication technology and expansion of internet access and branchless banking, has been propelling the sector forward, said the SBP report.

The new financial technology will enable people to make online transactions to anyone available on any mobile wallet account, which is not yet possible.



Fintech will add about 4 million jobs, 93 million bank accounts, $36 billion annually to the gross national product (GNP), and $7 billion to Pakistan government’s net revenue by 2025, according to McKinsey & Company, a worldwide management consulting firm.

“Bank accounts seem to be on track as there are 7 million today. This includes 1.8 million traditional accounts, accumulated over 50 years, and 5.2 million mobile/branchless accounts accumulated in around one-tenth of that time,” said National Technology Fund Ignite CEO Yusuf Hussain.

This is because globally, traditional bank accounts rise proportionately to GNP, but mobile accounts can rise exponentially. The central bank’s target of 50 million accounts by 2020 should be on track, as the McKinsey forecast, he remarked. Transactions worth Rs20.7 billion were carried out by consumers on international e-commerce websites, said the SBP. 

Published in The Express Tribune, January 23^rd, 2018.

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