Comments - Pakistan Ranked 5th in the World For Financial Inclusion Policy - PakAlumni Worldwide: The Global Social Network 2024-03-28T16:34:26Zhttp://www.pakalumni.com/profiles/comment/feed?attachedTo=1119293%3ABlogPost%3A105822&xn_auth=noFinancial inclusion in Pakist…tag:www.pakalumni.com,2023-03-03:1119293:Comment:4208992023-03-03T00:55:06.236ZRiaz Haqhttp://www.pakalumni.com/profile/riazul
<p><span>Financial inclusion in Pakistan increases to 30% - Profit by Pakistan Today</span><br></br><br></br><span><a href="https://profit.pakistantoday.com.pk/2023/02/08/financial-inclusion-in-pakistan-increases-to-30/" target="_blank">https://profit.pakistantoday.com.pk/2023/02/08/financial-inclusion-in-pakistan-increases-to-30/…</a></span><br></br><br></br><br></br></p>
<p><span>Financial inclusion in Pakistan increases to 30% - Profit by Pakistan Today</span><br/><br/><span><a href="https://profit.pakistantoday.com.pk/2023/02/08/financial-inclusion-in-pakistan-increases-to-30/" target="_blank">https://profit.pakistantoday.com.pk/2023/02/08/financial-inclusion-in-pakistan-increases-to-30/</a></span><br/><br/><br/><span><a href="https://portal.karandaaz.com.pk/dataset/financial-digital-inclusion/1038" target="_blank">https://portal.karandaaz.com.pk/dataset/financial-digital-inclusion/1038</a></span><br/><br/><br/><span>KARACHI: Financial inclusion in Pakistan has increased by 9 basis points from 2020 to 2022 and women’s access, specifically has hit a double-digit percentage for the first time, as recorded by a survey conducted by Karandaaz Pakistan.</span><br/><br/><span>As defined by the World Bank, “financial inclusion means that individuals and businesses have access to useful and affordable financial products and services that meet their needs – transactions, payments, savings, credit and insurance – delivered in a responsible and sustainable way.” This means conducting transactions through banks, mobile money and fintech.</span><br/><br/><span>The Karandaaz Financial Inclusion Survey (K-FIS) measures the percentage of adults above the age of 15 who report having at least one account in their name with an institution that offers a full range of financial services that is also documented by the government of Pakistan.</span><br/><br/><span>Following a significant jump in financial inclusion between 2017 and 2020, K-FIS recorded a substantial rise in the level of financial inclusion from 21% in 2020 to 30% of adults in 2022. Registered mobile money users more than doubled with an increase from 9% to 19%, while registered bank users also increased by 4 basis points over the same period.</span><br/><br/><span>By region, Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) recorded the highest level of financial inclusion at 45%, followed by Gilgit Baltistan at 35% and Azad Jammu & Kashmir at 34%.</span><br/><br/><span>Looking at the division by gender, male registration accounted for the bulk of financial account registrations in 2022 with 47% having at least one registered financial account. Comparatively, only 13% of women are recorded to have at least one registered financial account. Although women’s percentage accounts for less than half of their male counterparts, the financial account registration for women has reached double digits for the first time.</span><br/><br/><span>Overall, the largest increase was seen in mobile money wallet users, as active usage increased from 8% in 2020 to 16% in 2022. Active usage also saw an increase in bank account holders, indicating an increase from 12% in 2020 to 14% in 2022.</span><br/><br/><span>Addressing the webinar held by Karandaaz Pakistan on February 7, 2023, Noor Ahmed, Director of the Agri Finance and Financial Inclusion Department of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said, “Over the years, there has been significant progress on financial inclusion. Key initiatives such as RAAST have been transformative in furthering the inclusion of the marginalised.”</span><br/><br/><span>Karandaaz Pakistan is a not-for-profit special-purpose vehicle set up under Section 42 in August 2014. The company is the implementation partner of the Enterprise and Asset Growth Programme (EAGR) and Sustainable Energy and Economic Development (SEED) programme of the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO).</span></p> (Germany's) InsuResilience In…tag:www.pakalumni.com,2017-09-22:1119293:Comment:1174082017-09-22T18:05:36.015ZRiaz Haqhttp://www.pakalumni.com/profile/riazul
<p><span>(Germany's) InsuResilience Investment Fund to acquire 25pc equity stake in (Pakistan's) Asia Insurance:</span><br></br><br></br><br></br><span><a href="http://nation.com.pk/business/22-Sep-2017/insuresilience-investment-fund-to-acquire-25pc-equity-stake-in-asia-insurance" target="_blank">http://nation.com.pk/business/22-Sep-2017/insuresilience-investment-fund-to-acquire-25pc-equity-stake-in-asia-insurance</a></span><br></br><br></br><br></br><span>LAHORE - The InsuResilience Investment Fund, set up by the…</span></p>
<p><span>(Germany's) InsuResilience Investment Fund to acquire 25pc equity stake in (Pakistan's) Asia Insurance:</span><br/><br/><br/><span><a href="http://nation.com.pk/business/22-Sep-2017/insuresilience-investment-fund-to-acquire-25pc-equity-stake-in-asia-insurance" target="_blank">http://nation.com.pk/business/22-Sep-2017/insuresilience-investment-fund-to-acquire-25pc-equity-stake-in-asia-insurance</a></span><br/><br/><br/><span>LAHORE - The InsuResilience Investment Fund, set up by the German Development Bank KFW and managed by Swiss-based Impact Investment Manager Blue Orchard Finance, has entered into an agreement to acquire a significant minority stake in Lahore-based Asia Insurance Company Ltd, a general insurance company offering agriculture insurance to over 100,000 farmers in Pakistan.</span><br/><br/><span>The Blue Orchard managed InsuResilience Investment Fund and Asia Insurance Company Ltd, an innovative and fast growing general insurance company based in Pakistan, have signed an agreement according to which the Fund will subscribe to a rights issue in the insurance company for a 25 percent equity stake in the company post-equity injection, taking the company’s total equity to approximately Rs 1.04 billion. Asia Insurance Company is a leading player in agriculture, livestock and farm implements micro-insurance with approximately 44% of its gross written premium in 2016 coming from these areas. The proceeds of the investment will help Asia Insurance Company to grow by increasing the company’s risk capital and supporting its underwriting capacity in agriculture, hereby extending its outreach to low income farmers.</span><br/><br/><span>The InsuResilience Investment Fund, as part of the InsuResilience Initiative of the German G7/G20 presidencies, aims to contribute to the adaption to climate change by improving access to and the use of climate risk insurance in developing countries and emerging economies. The Fund has been set up as a public-private partnership and combines private equity and private debt investments. The investment is subject to regulatory approvals.</span><br/><br/><span>“Pakistan experiences various natural disasters and consequences of climate change, but has a low level of insurance coverage, leaving a significant part of its low-income population without protection. We are looking forward to partnering with Asia Insurance Company Ltd, a leading Pakistani insurance company, to extend the insurance coverage of poor and vulnerable households,” says Ernesto Costa, Co-Head of Private Equity at BlueOrchard.</span><br/><br/><span>“The agriculture sector directly and indirectly makes up a large portion of Pakistan’s economy. Now more than ever, with our country being impacted by recurring natural calamities, the need for extensive loss mitigation for this sector is paramount. Asia Insurance has been actively involved in providing coverage for farmers, crops, tractors and other various factors of this sector for 5 years, and with InsuResilience Investment Fund’s investment, will expand our outreach and our range of insurance products for this market with a view to innovative solutions tailored to Pakistan’s needs,” says Ihtsham ul-Haq Qureshi, CEO of Asia Insurance Company Ltd.</span><br/><br/><span>Luxembourg-based InsuResilience Investment Fund has been set up by KfW, the German Development Bank, on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). The overall objective of the InsuResilience Investment Fund is to contribute to the adaptation to climate change by improving access to and the use of insurance in developing countries. The specific objective of the fund is to reduce the vulnerability of low-income households and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) to extreme weather events. The InsuResilience Investment Fund has been set up as a public-private-partnership and combines private debt and equity investments in two separately investible sub-funds as well as technical assistance and premium support.</span><br/><br/><span>Asia Insurance Company Ltd is a general insurance company based in Lahore, authorized and supervised by the Insurance Division of the Security Exchange Commission of Pakistan.</span></p> Gearing up #FinTech for wider…tag:www.pakalumni.com,2017-08-08:1119293:Comment:1161202017-08-08T15:00:47.351ZRiaz Haqhttp://www.pakalumni.com/profile/riazul
<p><span>Gearing up #FinTech for wider #financialinclusion in #Pakistan</span><br></br><br></br><span><a href="http://aurora.dawn.com/news/1142117" target="_blank">http://aurora.dawn.com/news/1142117</a></span><br></br><br></br><span>Financial technology start-ups (FinTechs) are transforming the financial services industry globally and more and more banks are embracing this platform in order to devise more innovative solutions. The trend is now catching on in Pakistan.</span><br></br><br></br><span>This year two…</span></p>
<p><span>Gearing up #FinTech for wider #financialinclusion in #Pakistan</span><br/><br/><span><a href="http://aurora.dawn.com/news/1142117" target="_blank">http://aurora.dawn.com/news/1142117</a></span><br/><br/><span>Financial technology start-ups (FinTechs) are transforming the financial services industry globally and more and more banks are embracing this platform in order to devise more innovative solutions. The trend is now catching on in Pakistan.</span><br/><br/><span>This year two organisations, Habib Bank Limited (HBL) and Karandaaz Pakistan held their FinTech challenges with two separate objectives. HBL launched their ‘Innovation Challenge’ in May to find potential start-ups to bring in new and efficient financial solutions and ideas to their financial system, and Karandaaz Pakistan (a not-for-profit organisation) ran its second round of Financial Disruptive Challenge (FDC), in partnership with the IBA AMAN Centre for Entrepreneurial Development to promote financial inclusion in Pakistan.</span><br/><br/><span>Giving details about the HBL Innovation Challenge, Abrar A. Mir, Innovation and Financial Inclusion Officer, HBL, says the bank realises the importance of engaging with the entrepreneurial ecosystem to develop new solutions, and in order to reach out to the start-up community and source new solutions, it ran the Innovation Challenge. “If the ideas are interesting, we will induct the teams and ask them to develop those ideas at HBL.” In this way, he adds, the bank will not only benefit from innovative solutions, but will also solve one of the biggest challenges for any start-up: finding their first customer.</span><br/><br/><span>The challenge was based on five themes for which the bank sought solutions. These included customer authentication, data protection, automation, artificial intelligence and regulatory reporting. It was open to anyone (teams or individuals) who could bring in ideas and help the bank achieve the aim of “becoming the bank of the future” – which, according to Mir, will have streamlined operations, improved service and customised product offerings for each customer’s unique needs.</span><br/><br/><span>“With the help of FinTechs and our existing data, we want to develop solutions to predict when customers need a car or a house loan, when their children are going to college or if they need financial help,” says Mir.</span><br/><br/><span>Applications were submitted via the HBL Innovation Challenge website. Mir says the response was encouraging as they received more than 60 proposals (including a few from entities outside Pakistan). After selection and grading by the panel of members from the HBL management, nine teams were shortlisted for the final held on May 23 this year. Three winners were announced. The first was LFD Default Prediction Algorithm; a team of young scientists who work on big data solutions. They developed algorithms for HBL to determine credit worthiness of existing and prospective customers. The solution will help HBL classify borrowers and gauge an individual’s willingness or ability to repay a credit or a loan. The second winner was Faceoff; a team of four software engineers with expertise in artificial intelligence. Faceoff brought solutions specialising in facial recognition to verify customers, reduce fraud and provide more secure services. The third was Wukla/Paksign; an online portal founded by three lawyers who provide digital legal services. The team developed solutions to sign legal documents digitally. These solutions help verify financial transactions made online.</span><br/><br/><span>All three winners, rather than receiving a cash reward, will take HBL on as a client and deploy their solutions. The remaining six finalists received cash awards worth Rs 200,000 each – “as a token of appreciation.” According to Mir, HBL plans to make this challenge an annual event and hopes to see more interesting solutions in future rounds.</span><br/><br/><span>Karandaaz Pakistan concluded their second Fintech Disruptive Challenge on May 20 this year.</span></p> Pakistan Govt to launch $130m…tag:www.pakalumni.com,2017-08-06:1119293:Comment:1162292017-08-06T17:25:26.296ZRiaz Haqhttp://www.pakalumni.com/profile/riazul
<p><span style="font-size: 1.5em;">Pakistan </span><a class="story__link" href="https://www.dawn.com/news/1313172/govt-to-launch-130m-financial-inclusion-project" style="font-size: 1.5em;">Govt to launch $130m financial inclusion project<br></br><br></br></a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.dawn.com/news/1313172" target="_blank">https://www.dawn.com/news/1313172</a></p>
<p></p>
<p>The government is embarking on the Pakistan Financial Inclusion and Infrastructure Project aimed at increasing access to…</p>
<p><span style="font-size: 1.5em;">Pakistan </span><a href="https://www.dawn.com/news/1313172/govt-to-launch-130m-financial-inclusion-project" class="story__link" style="font-size: 1.5em;">Govt to launch $130m financial inclusion project<br/><br/></a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.dawn.com/news/1313172" target="_blank">https://www.dawn.com/news/1313172</a></p>
<p></p>
<p>The government is embarking on the Pakistan Financial Inclusion and Infrastructure Project aimed at increasing access to financial services for households and businesses by improving usage of digital payments in the country.</p>
<p>Two World Bank institutions — International Bank for the Reconstruction and Development and the International Development Association — will jointly provide $130 million finance for the project. The project will be implemented by the recently-established Pakistan Microfinance Investment Company, the Central Directorate of National Savings and the State Bank’s development finance group.</p>
<p>Requesting assistance for the project, the government has informed the World Bank that the project will support a holistic national financial inclusion strategy (NFIS).</p>
<p>It will focus on the development of market infrastructure and the ecosystem that will facilitate access and usage of digital payments and financial services.</p>
<p></p>
<p>Access to credit for micro, small and medium enterprises will be supported by a line of credit that will catalyse private sector financing and focused interventions including technical assistance in line with the NFIS.</p>
<p>In 2015, the government launched the National Financial Inclusion Strategy (NFIS) with a vision to allow individuals and firms access to a range of quality payments, savings, credit and insurance services which meet their needs with dignity and fairness.</p>
<p>In the last 25 years, Pakistan’s financial sector has gone from one dominated by underperforming state-owned banks to a modern and sound financial sector dominated by private banks. The banking sector accounts for 75 per cent of financial sector assets, with the balance in the National Savings Scheme (16.5pc); insurance companies (5pc); non-bank financial institutions (4.0pc); and microfinance institutions (0.5pc).</p>
<p>The microfinance sector is small in terms of assets, but is significant in terms of financial access. Financial soundness indicators indicate that the banking sector is generally sound, liquid and profitable. Islamic finance is growing rapidly, and currently accounts for 11pc of sector assets.</p>
<p>As a result, Pakistan has the highest penetration of mobile money accounts in South Asia at 5.8pc of the adult population, compared to the South Asian average of 1.9pc.</p>
<p>The gender gap on mobile accounts is much narrower than the overall gap for accounts. Despite these achievements, financial access remains low.</p>
<p>According to World Bank Global Financial Inclusion Database (FINDEX), only 13pc of adults in Pakistan had access to a formal account in 2014, far behind Sri Lanka at 83pc, India at 53pc and Bangladesh at 31pc.</p> #financialliteracy in #Pakist…tag:www.pakalumni.com,2017-07-27:1119293:Comment:1164032017-07-27T01:24:32.084ZRiaz Haqhttp://www.pakalumni.com/profile/riazul
<p>#financialliteracy in #Pakistan at 26% higher than #India's 24%, according to S&P Survey</p>
<p><a href="http://gflec.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Gallup-country-list-with-score.pdf" target="_blank">http://gflec.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Gallup-country-list-with-score.pdf</a> …</p>
<p><br></br><a href="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DFtEsMDUAAAD7DU.jpg:large" target="_blank">https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DFtEsMDUAAAD7DU.jpg:large…</a></p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<p>#financialliteracy in #Pakistan at 26% higher than #India's 24%, according to S&P Survey</p>
<p><a href="http://gflec.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Gallup-country-list-with-score.pdf" target="_blank">http://gflec.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Gallup-country-list-with-score.pdf</a> …</p>
<p><br/><a href="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DFtEsMDUAAAD7DU.jpg:large" target="_blank">https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DFtEsMDUAAAD7DU.jpg:large</a></p>
<p></p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2957834028?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="750" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2957834028?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="750" class="align-full"/></a></p> #Fintech Startups in #India &…tag:www.pakalumni.com,2017-07-19:1119293:Comment:1157142017-07-19T23:25:37.617ZRiaz Haqhttp://www.pakalumni.com/profile/riazul
<p>#Fintech Startups in #India & #Pakistan Find A Champion In Emerging Market Accelerator Called DFS Lab via @forbes<br></br><br></br><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/chynes/2017/07/18/south-asian-fintech-startups-find-a-champion-in-this-emerging-market-accelerator/#33e128ff3a64" target="_blank">https://www.forbes.com/sites/chynes/2017/07/18/south-asian-fintech-startups-find-a-champion-in-this-emerging-market-accelerator/#33e128ff3a64</a><br></br><br></br>Owais Zaidi was sitting in traffic when a…</p>
<p>#Fintech Startups in #India & #Pakistan Find A Champion In Emerging Market Accelerator Called DFS Lab via @forbes<br/><br/><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/chynes/2017/07/18/south-asian-fintech-startups-find-a-champion-in-this-emerging-market-accelerator/#33e128ff3a64" target="_blank">https://www.forbes.com/sites/chynes/2017/07/18/south-asian-fintech-startups-find-a-champion-in-this-emerging-market-accelerator/#33e128ff3a64</a><br/><br/>Owais Zaidi was sitting in traffic when a dilapidated-looking cab pulled up next to him. The cabbie asked to borrow 1,000 Pakistani rupees so he could get his tires changed, explaining that a market loan would cost him nearly 50 rupees a day in interest. Zaidi was moved by the man’s plight, and he gave the money as charity rather than a loan. But the encounter got him thinking about the millions of underbanked consumers in Pakistan who face predatory lending practices. <br/><br/>“The guy looked genuine so I gave him money, but it really bothered me how the poor are exploited,” Zaidi said. “Based on my experience consulting with banks, I know how straight-jacketed they are in their policies as well as thoughts.”<br/><br/>Zaidi decided to do more than help this one cabbie. In 2016, he founded CreditFix, a credit marketplace that draws on alternative data to assess creditworthiness among unbanked consumers. The company will launch a pilot program in Pakistan in August with 50,000 potential customers, Zaidi said. CreditFix’s platform will use borrowers’ work histories, mobile top-up records, and utility payments to generate credit scores that will then be visible to lenders who use the marketplace.<br/><br/>“The core goal of CreditFix is to facilitate the underserved and unserved segments of the population in getting access to fair credit, primarily for revenue generating assets,” Zaidi said.<br/><br/>CreditFix’s launch was aided in part by Digital Financial Services Innovation Lab (DFS Lab), a Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation-backed accelerator that supports fintech startups in the emerging markets of South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. DFS Lab provides companies with grant money and is developing an investment model as well. However, the ultimate goal is to connect startups with investors who can provide advice and funding as these early-stage businesses evolve. The organization offers regular mentorship, along with access to resources such as Amazon Web Services and marketing and mobile app support through the Global Accelerator Network (GAN). DFS Lab aims to provide the types of support that are vital to startups and are often lacking in developing markets.<br/><br/>“In Silicon Valley, it’s still hard, but there’s a whole really rich ecosystem that happens -- networking, mentorship, an ethos and community around being an entrepreneur,” said DFS Lab Director Jake Kendall. “Those elements are really missing in developing countries. It’s very hard to connect with people who are at the global frontier.”<br/><br/>Access to qualified, experienced investors can prove particularly important, because predatory investors are prominent in emerging markets, according to Kendall. In some instances, the investors don’t understand the startup space because they’re coming from vastly different industries. In others, they’re focused solely on making money off the companies rather than helping them grow sustainably. The team at DFS Lab tries to prevent such failures by getting quality companies in front of investors who can genuinely assist them.<br/><br/><br/>---------------<br/><br/>With two billion adults still without bank accounts throughout the world, the need for innovative financial services is real. DFS Lab and the startups with which it works have a real opportunity to help meet that need by emphasizing the unique circumstances of underserved consumers in emerging markets.</p> Karandaaz #Pakistan signs gra…tag:www.pakalumni.com,2017-07-19:1119293:Comment:1158192017-07-19T14:22:12.925ZRiaz Haqhttp://www.pakalumni.com/profile/riazul
<p><span>Karandaaz #Pakistan signs grant agreements with 4 ‘#FinTech Disrupt Challenge’ winners - <a href="https://pakwired.com/karandaaz-pakistan-agreements-fintech/" target="_blank">https://pakwired.com/karandaaz-pakistan-agreements-fintech/</a> … via @pakwired</span><br></br><br></br><span>One of Pakistan’s top financial technology & inclusion players, Karandaaz Pakistan, has signed grant agreements with four winners of the ‘FinTech Disrupt Challenge’ 2017. Aimed at hunting for extraordinary…</span></p>
<p><span>Karandaaz #Pakistan signs grant agreements with 4 ‘#FinTech Disrupt Challenge’ winners - <a href="https://pakwired.com/karandaaz-pakistan-agreements-fintech/" target="_blank">https://pakwired.com/karandaaz-pakistan-agreements-fintech/</a> … via @pakwired</span><br/><br/><span>One of Pakistan’s top financial technology & inclusion players, Karandaaz Pakistan, has signed grant agreements with four winners of the ‘FinTech Disrupt Challenge’ 2017. Aimed at hunting for extraordinary startup ideas worthy of creating substantial social impact, the second chapter of FDC solicited innovative responses to bottlenecks in Pakistan’s financial services sector.</span><br/><br/><span>Held at a local hotel in Islamabad, the event saw Karandaaz Pakistan CEO Mr. Ali Sarfraz signing grant agreements with the FDC 2017 winners. CreditFix, the FDC ’17 winner founded by Owais Zaidi, was awarded a grant of USD $100,000. Three runners-up namely Agri-Gate by Saad Tamman, UniKrew Solution by Naveed Tejani, Syed Taha Ali, and Muhammad Naveed Shareef, and Invoice Wakalah by Muhammad Waseem Sheikh, received USD $20,000 each in funding.</span><br/><br/><span>Through FDC 2017, Karandaaz had invited startups in five thematic areas including access to financial services, payments, e-commerce, interoperability, and early stage ideas related to mWallet use cases, education of financial services through technology, customer engagement/experience, microcredit, and digital savings. Banks, government regulators, incubators, and complementary actors from the FinTech industry had assembled together at the event to hear the 23 shortlisted startups present their ideas in front of a panel of experts.</span><br/><br/><span>“We are confident that the grants we have released today will help these promising startups go to market and change Pakistan’s financial services landscape for the better,” said Mr. Ali Sarfraz, CEO, Karandaaz Pakistan. “The FinTech Disrupt Challenge is a remarkable platform through which we give emerging and aspiring fin-tech players of Pakistan an opportunity to materialize their passion of promoting financial inclusion in the country. I wish CreditFix, Invoice Wakalah, UniKrew, and ‘Agrigate’ the very best of luck for the future.”</span><br/><br/><span>The FinTech Disrupt Challenge is an extension of Karandaaz Pakistan’s overall ambition of promoting financial inclusion to marginalized segments of the society. The company extends financial and technical support to financial technology startups which showcase substantial potential to create value for the society.</span></p> #Pakistan to launch state-of-…tag:www.pakalumni.com,2017-05-27:1119293:Comment:1141122017-05-27T14:16:48.525ZRiaz Haqhttp://www.pakalumni.com/profile/riazul
<p>#Pakistan to launch state-of-the-art E-payment gateway. #PayPal #AliPay #ecommerce<br></br><br></br><a href="https://tribune.com.pk/story/1420372/pakistan-launch-state-art-e-payment-gateway/" target="_blank">https://tribune.com.pk/story/1420372/pakistan-launch-state-art-e-payment-gateway/</a><br></br><br></br>Finance Minister Ishaq Dar announced on Friday that Pakistan would open international electronic payment gateways ahead of the likely arrival of PayPal and Alipay in the country.<br></br><br></br>While…</p>
<p>#Pakistan to launch state-of-the-art E-payment gateway. #PayPal #AliPay #ecommerce<br/><br/><a href="https://tribune.com.pk/story/1420372/pakistan-launch-state-art-e-payment-gateway/" target="_blank">https://tribune.com.pk/story/1420372/pakistan-launch-state-art-e-payment-gateway/</a><br/><br/>Finance Minister Ishaq Dar announced on Friday that Pakistan would open international electronic payment gateways ahead of the likely arrival of PayPal and Alipay in the country.<br/><br/>While presenting the budget for 2017-18 in the National Assembly, the finance minister said the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) was developing a state-of-the-art e-gateway at a cost of Rs200 million.<br/><br/>“The system will facilitate transactions through mobile banking,” he said. “The Rs200-million investment is being undertaken by the SBP.”<br/><br/>Even though PayPal is a world-renowned international e-payment system, Alipay is not as common across the globe. However, recently, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif developed an understanding with Alibaba Group Founder and Executive Chairman Jack Ma, who also owns Alipay, to open its office in Pakistan. Alipay will enable Chinese and Pakistani traders to make easy e-payments between the two countries.<br/><br/>Meanwhile, information and communications technology expert Parvez Iftikhar said the establishment of the e-gateway system at the highest regulatory level – the SBP – was an effort towards replacing the existing manual trade payment system by opening Letters of Credit.<br/><br/><br/>Digital Pakistan<br/><br/>The finance minister said the telecommunication sector was one of the important pillars of the country’s economic development. Hence, in order to further incentivise the sector, customs duties at the rates of 11% and 16% were being withdrawn and a uniform rate of 9% regulatory duty was being levied on telecom equipment in the coming fiscal year.<br/><br/>Additionally, Dar said start-up software houses would be exempted from income tax for the first three years. Similarly, exports of information technology (IT) services from Islamabad and other federal territories will be exempted from sales tax.<br/><br/>Mobile phone industry – another important element in the IT sector – received a further relief as withholding income tax on mobile calls was reduced from 14% to 12.5% and federal excise duty was reduced from 18.5% to 17%.<br/><br/>“We hope that provincial governments will also reduce the rate of sales tax on mobile industry,” he said. “In order to encourage the use of smartphones, the customs duty will be reduced from Rs1,000 to Rs650.”<br/><br/>Iftikhar commended the incentives and tax relief for the IT sector, which were meant to enable industrial players to invest more in the sector. “Digitalising Pakistan is the way forward. This is how we will cope with the developed countries,” he said.<br/><br/>Nevertheless, he added more could have been done to achieve a faster growth in the sector. “Reduction of withholding tax on phone calls and duty on smartphones is an encouraging development. However, calls and phones should have been made tax-free in the larger interest of digitalising the economy.”<br/><br/>Branchless banking<br/><br/>Dar announced exemption from withholding tax on cash withdrawals by branchless banking agents.<br/><br/>The move has been undertaken to realise the government’s dream of providing 50% adult population of Pakistan access to banks under its Financial Inclusion Strategy 2020. At present, 25% adult population has access to formal banking channels.<br/><br/>E-commerce and IT need to watch out for the budget<br/><br/>Iftikhar said the exemption from withholding tax on cash withdrawals under branchless banking would enable the government to document the economy, which would be one of the great efforts towards minimising the size of undocumented economy.<br/><br/>“Progress in almost every sector of the economy – like banking, agriculture, education, health and governance – is now linked with adoption of telecommunication,” he said.<br/><br/>Meanwhile, Jazz Director Communications Anjum Rahman said the government was supporting the agenda of ‘Digital Pakistan’, which was in line with the company’s vision and aspirations.</p> State #Bank to launch a #mobi…tag:www.pakalumni.com,2017-03-29:1119293:Comment:1136152017-03-29T14:53:42.747ZRiaz Haqhttp://www.pakalumni.com/profile/riazul
<p><span>State #Bank to launch a #mobile app for financial transactions across #Pakistan. #mobilemoney #financialinclusion <a href="http://bit.ly/2ofA2Kp" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/2ofA2Kp</a> </span><br></br><br></br><span>The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has developed a mobile application – Asaan Mobile Account (AMA) – to allow financial transactions across the country.</span><br></br><br></br><span>The announcement was made by SBP Executive Director Syed Samar Hasnain while speaking at the event of…</span></p>
<p><span>State #Bank to launch a #mobile app for financial transactions across #Pakistan. #mobilemoney #financialinclusion <a href="http://bit.ly/2ofA2Kp" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/2ofA2Kp</a> </span><br/><br/><span>The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has developed a mobile application – Asaan Mobile Account (AMA) – to allow financial transactions across the country.</span><br/><br/><span>The announcement was made by SBP Executive Director Syed Samar Hasnain while speaking at the event of rebranding of Tameer Microfinance Bank as Telenor Microfinance Bank. He said that AMA app will provide a single platform to all bank account holders on different mobile phone networks to conduct financial transactions, which will be like creating “universal interoperability”.</span><br/><br/><span>The application will be simple to use and will not necessarily require the use of smartphones. People with feature phones will also be able to benefit from the app. It will take about two minutes to create the account, with a cost of Rs. 10 for the verification of users’ information. Director said,</span><br/><br/><span>“People could pay their utility bills, while firms could disburse salaries and pensions via that application. The application would also help people make payments to their dry cleaner, milk vendor, barber and etc… Transactions would definitely have financial limitation and caps…”</span><br/><br/><span>National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) is also on board with SBP for verifying clients’ information. Director added that the objective of the app is to reduce transactions in hard cash and avoid money thefts.</span><br/><br/><span>He further said that the number of branchless bank accounts has increased 3.7 times over the last year and the app will help SBP achieve its vision of providing access of banks to 50% adult population by 2020.</span><br/><br/><span>Telenor Microfinance Bank Chief Executive Officer Ali Riaz Chaudhry said that 100 million people in Pakistan are involved in economic activities in the country and 80 million of them don’t even have access to money and bank accounts. He said,</span><br/><br/><span>“We have set a target of providing access to money and banks to some 50 million people in the next three-four years. 20 million people transferred money worth Rs. 200 billion via Easypaisa in the last one year,”</span><br/><br/><span>SBP Director said that the AMA app was in the implementation stage and would be launched in June 2017.</span></p> #Visa QR #mobile payments com…tag:www.pakalumni.com,2017-03-18:1119293:Comment:1132902017-03-18T16:16:33.162ZRiaz Haqhttp://www.pakalumni.com/profile/riazul
<p><span>#Visa QR #mobile payments coming to #Indonesia, #Pakistan, #Vietnam</span><br></br><br></br><span><a href="http://www.telecomasia.net/content/visa-qr-payments-coming-indonesia-pakistan-vietnam" target="_blank">http://www.telecomasia.net/content/visa-qr-payments-coming-indonesia-pakistan-vietnam</a></span><br></br><br></br><span>Visa will soon be expanding its QR-based mobile payment service to ten more markets, including Indonesia, Pakistan and Vietnam.</span><br></br><br></br><span>The service, named mVisa,…</span></p>
<p><span>#Visa QR #mobile payments coming to #Indonesia, #Pakistan, #Vietnam</span><br/><br/><span><a href="http://www.telecomasia.net/content/visa-qr-payments-coming-indonesia-pakistan-vietnam" target="_blank">http://www.telecomasia.net/content/visa-qr-payments-coming-indonesia-pakistan-vietnam</a></span><br/><br/><span>Visa will soon be expanding its QR-based mobile payment service to ten more markets, including Indonesia, Pakistan and Vietnam.</span><br/><br/><span>The service, named mVisa, is now live in India, Kenya and Rwanda, and will soon be available to merchants and consumers in the three new APAC markets, as well as Egypt, Ghana, Kazakhstan, and Nigeria.</span><br/><br/><span>mVisa, a mobile solution, aims to provide easy and secure digital commerce to financial institutions, merchants and consumers in emerging markets.</span><br/><br/><span>The service is designed to help merchants overcome infrastructure issues by allowing consumers to use their mobile phones to make cashless purchases at merchant outlets, pay bills remotely and send money to friends and family members by securely linking their Visa debit, credit or prepaid account to the mVisa application.</span><br/><br/><span>mVisa digitizes the underlying account and allows consumers to transfer funds from their account to the retailer’s account reliably and securely by scanning a QR code.</span><br/><br/><span>Use cases of mVisa include the allowing subscribers of Tata Sky, a direct-to-home service provider in India, to recharge their account by using their mobile phones to scan the WR code directly from the TV screen or online. This function allows Tata Sky customers to order and pay for monthly or one-time services from home without having to visit a physical retail outlet.</span><br/><br/><span>Mahanagar Gas Limited, a utility provider in Mumbai, also issues customer bills printed with the mVisa QR code. Customers scan the QR code on the bill, as they would at a merchant outlet, and complete their transaction at their leisure.</span></p>