Digital banking: from payments to prosperity

The rise of digital banking presents an unparalleled opportunity for customer convenience via increased financial inclusion, deeper social mobility, reduced poverty and expanded economic participation that transcends borders.

easypaisa has revolutionised payments by enabling millions to send and receive money, pay bills, and shop online without needing a physical bank branch. For students, freelancers, e-commerce entrepreneurs, homemakers and shopkeepers alike, mobile wallets have become indispensable tools for managing day-to-day financial transactions.

Digital banking creates opportunities and makes financial services accessible, affordable, and easy to use for everyone beyond the basic features of payment wallets. Digital banks will be able to graduate customers into digital banking customers with a full suite of financial services while enabling the millions who are still underserved and underbanked in the country with cheaper, faster and better solutions.

easypaisa’s journey that started a revolution of payments in Pakistan is now geared to provide ways to invest, save and protect customers beyond the need of payments and access to capital. We are working towards an ecosystem of products and services in a super app that customises customers’ needs domestically and internationally.

From offering digital access to capital via micro-lending, including nano lending and Buy Now Pay Later (BPNL) services that allow small business owners and underserved communities to access small loans, we have now launched an insurance marketplace that offers over 50 different plans. We are enabling access to instant insurance protection for a mass community that could not imagine having access to services like these in the past.

Digital banks increase the access of digital savings accounts to a larger audience, allowing individuals who may not use a traditional bank to save money securely, while also earning a competitive profit -- an option that was previously only available to the wealthy or those with formal bank accounts. Multiple ways to save and invest in products like term deposits that were only available to branch-based customers can now be digitally accessed and invested at your fingertips. The dream of investing in equity-based funds is now accessible to our youth who could now do so digitally without the need to go through a paper-based process.

This democratisation of financial services, recognition of its strength, resilience and technology prowess continues to create followers in the fintech and payments space, enabling growth for the industry. Recent upgrade of credit ratings for easypaisa digital bank is a testament of the financial stability, sustainability and trust of external auditors and rating agencies in the first digital retail bank in Pakistan that millions entrust already. We are building on this by improving customer experience and enabling world-class risk management systems.

The path to widespread financial inclusion and prosperity in Pakistan is not one that any single organisation or entity can walk alone. It requires collective action between the government, regulators, financial institutions, tech companies, customers and policies that foster innovation.

Encouragingly, Pakistan’s regulatory environment is evolving to support this momentum. The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has played a progressive role in democratising financial access and enabling a new wave of digital-first services. These developments point to a maturing ecosystem -- one that is increasingly responsive to the evolving needs of its population.

The Pakistan government’s cashless economy initiative aimed at accelerating digital payment adoption, reducing cash usage, and transforming the country’s retail and public transaction infrastructure is a step in the right direction. easypaisa will continue to partner with the public and private sectors to fuel the growth of cashless Pakistan via an ecosystem that remains telco and bank agnostic.

However, challenges persist with high cash in circulation in the country. There is a dire need to create awareness about financial literacy amid the grassroots, formulate policies to create the customer and merchant value propositions for faster digital payment adoption, and increase customer trust while making cash transactions more expensive.

As we move a step closer to World Fintech Day, we are reminded of the immense potential within Pakistan’s financial sector and the long way we have come. They are testament to the fact that if leveraged well, digital banking is a catalyst for change and inclusion. From payments to prosperity, it is the bridge that will connect millions of Pakistanis to the tools they need to thrive in a digital world-ultimately democratising financial services with the purpose to serve under banked and unbanked millions in the country.

The writer is CEO of easypaisa digital bank.