NdcTech exhibited its offerings at ITCN Asia, one of the biggest IT conferences in Pakistan

NdcTech, a wholly owned subsidiary of Systems Limited and one of the fastest-growing consulting companies exhibited its offerings at ITCN Asia, one of the biggest IT conferences in Pakistan. The company’s experts shared insights on how NdcTech is building banks of the future by accelerating their mission-critical digital transformations.

While addressing the audience at ITCN Asia, Mr. Asif Peer CEO, Managing Director & Member of the Board of Systems Limited said; “The success stories of Pakistan need to be highlighted globally. We need to market our country and IT sector in the world. “

Around 500 companies had set stalls in the exhibition to showcase solutions for various important fields of IT and Telecom sector including Cloud, Data Centre, Cyber security, ERP, Education, Banking and Finance, Health and Pharmaceutical, Ecommerce, Artificial Intelligence and Robotics with a focus on networking, knowledge sharing and lead generation.

Fawad Ur Rehman, Chief Enterprise Architect‐Enabling Modernization shared his thoughts in an insightful panel discussion on Cloud Banking: “As the volume of transactions are rapidly increasing, NdcTech ensures that Banks are armed with the right skills, technology, security measures and elasticity of architecture.”

The event proved to be a great platform to connect with banking and technology experts in Pakistan.

Finance Minister launches “EMLAAK Financials”, Pakistan’s first digital Mutual Fund aggregator developed by CDC

As a landmark and first of its kind initiative in Pakistan’s capital market landscape, “Emlaak Financials” the first digital aggregator platform for mutual funds has been formally inaugurated by the Honorable Federal Minister for Finance & Revenue, Dr. Miftah Ismail on Aug 5, 2022 at CDC House, Karachi. This platform has been successfully implemented as a digital distribution channel initially for Mutual Funds and later on for other asset classes also.

The Pilot project for Emlaak was initially launched in 2021 for the Sahulat account opening via the platform, after which CDC has continued to abide by its commitment to collaborate with the Mutual Fund Industry for enhancing the platform. The full-fledged account opening feature has now been launched via this online investment portal which is the first of its kind in Pakistan allowing multiple funds from different AMCs to be offered to investors through a single platform.

While officiating the event, Honorable Federal Minister for Finance & Revenue Dr. Miftah Ismail said, “Emlaak Financials, which has been implemented as a digital aggregator of Mutual Funds, is a very important and timely initiative by SECP and very well executed by CDC. It is very important for our economy that we should introduce such novel concepts which will promote the investment culture in Pakistan and provide an easy and informative platform to the investors thus enabling them to make wise investment decisions while giving them the convenience to open their mutual fund accounts digitally from anywhere without having to visit the brick & mortar offices of Asset Management Companies.”

While addressing the occasion, Mr. Aamir Khan—Chairman SECP said, “It is indeed a very important milestone for the Mutual Fund Industry as it embarks on this consolidated digital distribution channel launched for the first time in Pakistan. We, at SECP, are strong proponents of re-engineering processes for promoting efficiency and transparency through digitalization and will continue to support and encourage all such initiatives by providing all the required Regulatory assistance in this regard.

Mr. Moin Fudda, Chairman of CDC’s Board of Directors, welcomed the Finance Minister and others guests after which CEO MUFAP Ms. Mashmooma Majeed addressed the audience. At the occasion, describing the objectives of the platform, Mr. Badiuddin Akber—CEO CDC said, “Emlaak Financials has been envisioned to pave the way for the growth of the Mutual Fund Industry and promote the savings culture in Pakistan at the grass-root level. CDC is committed towards providing innovative tech-based platforms to Capital Market entities through which they can leverage CDC’s technological edge to enhance their investor outreach in a convenient, informative and interactive manner.”

The event was also attended by Director SECP – Ms. Khalda Habib, representatives of the Asset Management Industry and other Industry representatives, who lauded CDC’s efforts in undertaking this initiative and playing its role for the development of the mutual fund industry.

ABHI, Unveel.io to offer Earned Wage Access to Ride-hailing and Delivery Drivers in Pakistan and UAE

ABHI, a Pakistan-based fintech and Unveel.io, a UAE-based API-Widget are combining their expertise to offer the facility of Earned Wage Access to ride-hailing and delivery drivers in Pakistan and UAE for the first time.

As the world economy struggles to get back on the rails, this comes as a ray of hope for workers. Hundreds of thousands of workers who were previously at the mercy of pay cycles over which they had no control are now better placed to manage the ongoing cost-of-living crisis, thanks to the combined efforts of Unveel.io, an acknowledged expert in API payroll data, and ABHI, whose Earned Wage Access solutions have placed them at the head of their fields.

These two companies ensure that workers will now be able to access their earnings in real-time and be paid for their services on the same day, rather than be paid after a whole month. This will allow them to be in more control of their finances and lead a more productive and stress-free life.

Max Moscicki, Vice President of Unveel.io, said:

“Our philosophy is that once you have earned something, you should have access to it right away, and Unveel’s real-time data enables that. Anything else is basically not giving you what you deserve. Having to wait for a distant payday is something that many gig workers cannot comfortably do, nor should they have to.

Ride-hailing drivers and delivery couriers are some of the hardest working people out there, and we think that they deserve straightforward access to the fruits of their labor on their own terms.”

Omair Ansari, CEO, and Co-founder of ABHI, said:

“Employees should no longer have to feel ashamed to ask for the money they rightly deserve. Through our Earned Wage Access product, people can acquire their earnings instantly, which we believe is a basic human right. We are thrilled to partner with Unveel.io and believe that this partnership will open newer avenues to financially empower working individuals, enabling them to live a happier, healthier, and more productive life.”

About Unveel:

An acknowledged expert in API payroll data based in UAE, which gives you real-time income and work history data for 65 million gig workers around the world. With a secure gig platform infrastructure to enable seamless access to financial and employment data across 150+ countries, their coverage is growing monthly and they are continually adding and testing the latest gig platforms.

Paymob and NIFT Sign Agreement to Securely Enable Digital Payments in Pakistan

Paymob, the leading omni-channel financial services platform in the MENAP region, signed an agreement with National Institutional Facilitation Technologies (NIFT) to facilitate digital payments in Pakistan and to secure payment transfers. Under the agreement, Paymob will enable digital payments for their merchants using the NIFT ePay payment platform which supports account, wallet, and card-based payments.

Paymob’s payment infrastructure enables SMEs to accept digital payments online and in-store whilst providing them better access to financial services. As an API integrator, Paymob’s gateway sits on merchants’ websites to facilitate payment capture. In addition to conventional bank cards, Paymob merchants will have access to mobile wallets, QR payments, bank card installment plans, and Buy-Now Pay-Later (BNPL) options all of which serve to drive an increased volume of transactions and revenue.

Paymob plans to extend its Tap-on-Phone payment acceptance service to the Pakistan market. The company will also launch cards to enable B2B transactions for its merchants and build tools for merchants to better manage and grow their business.

NIFT was established in 1995 as a joint venture between six major Pakistani banks and entrepreneurs from the private sector. It is the leading Payment System Operator (PSO) in Pakistan for cheque clearing and is the country’s foremost Digital Payment Gateway, providing an electronic platform for clearing, processing, and switching electronic transactions in Pakistan under the brand name NIFT ePay.

Haidar Wahab, CEO of NIFT commented, “NIFT continues to play an important and proactive role in streamlining Pakistan’s payment system. As promoters of financial technology, NIFT is committed to delivering an efficient, secured, and convenient digital payment system in which our economic growth can further thrive. This new partnership with Paymob opens a range of exciting new possibilities for Pakistan’s payment infrastructure and puts it at the cutting edge of innovation in this space.”

Fawad Abdul Kader, Country Manager of Paymob in Pakistan mentioned, “We are proud to partner with NIFT ePay which will serve to drive ecommerce by making a variety of payment options available to merchants all across Pakistan. SMEs are the engines of growth in any economy and this partnership with NIFT ePay will serve to fuel that growth and drive revenue in today’s digital economy.”

PITB signs MoU to integrate Mastercard with PayZen

LAHORE – 1 July 2022

Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB) has inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to integrate Mastercard Asia/Pacific Pte. Ltd with PayZen, a modern digital payment solution to facilitate money movement between different segments of Financial Ecosystem.

The agreement was signed by PITB Director General IT-Operations (IT-Ops) Faisal Yousaf and Country General Manager Middle East & North Africa (MENA) East J K Khalil during a ceremony conducted at Arfa Software Technology Park (ASTP) in Lahore.

While addressing the event, PITB IT-Ops DG Faisal Yousaf said, ‘PITB plans to work with Mastercard to identify new opportunities for facilitation of the citizens. This collaboration will explore joint-ventures for digitization of government payments in Pakistan and worldwide.’ He further stressed to expand cooperation in various areas including food, livestock, fee and toll collection etc in near future.

Mastercard’s Country General Manager J K Khalil expressed gratitude over PITB’s technical support and offered their global expertise on ‘open loop transit solutions’ that allow customers to pay using their Debit/Credit/ Pre-Paid cards for transportation. In this regard, necessary support will be extended to PITB through partner acquiring bank, he pledged.

The Mastercard integration with PITB will also provide the possibility of establishing Mastercard Farmer Network / Provenance Solutions in Pakistan enabling farmers to sell their crops across the world. Under this MoU, cooperation on various strategic alliance opportunities including formalizing the potential collaboration with respect to introducing Digital Financial Services in PITB will be ensured.

Hysab Kytab signed a strategic partnership with Winikon

Karachi: Hysab Kytab – a leading FinTech that offers a suite of financial management solutions has signed a strategic partnership with Winikon – IT services company specialized in banking business to enhance the banking experience of customers. This collaboration will help in providing individual-level personalized financial management products and services to banking customers.

The partnership between Winikon and Hysab Kytab will facilitate banking customers to manage their finances more efficiently and securely. It will improve the banking experience, and better money management and help the customers proactively manage their finances.

Viktor Weininger, CEO at Winikon said ’’Winikon is serving Temenos Transact clients backed up with 15+ years of experience in Temenos ecosystem. PFM is a key element of digital transformation as mobile is the most essential touchpoint with banking clients nowadays. I’m delighted to onboard Hysab Kytab as our partner. Through our partnership with Hysab Kytab, we are offering a best-of-breed, innovative PFM solution integrated with Transact”

Yasir Ilyas, Head of Hysab Kytab said “Hysab Kytab’s PFM is available at Temenos Exchange (Temenos Marketplace) as pre-integrated with Infinity and Transact for global customers. As a product company our expansion/scale strategy demands finding well reputed partners that have track record of successful projects. This partnership with Winikon is key for our scale strategy and I look forward to creating success together with Winikon”

About Winikon: Winikon’s passion is banking operations made simple. Winikon accompanies its clients along their path of becoming an organization where advanced banking software technology is a stable and reliable enabler for business and innovation. We help banks on their journey of transitioning into the world of modern IT architecture.

About Hysab Kytab: Hysab Kytab’s PFM is available on marketplaces of Temenos – Temenos Exchange as pre-integrated with Infinity and Transact for global customers.

Hysab Kytab PFM is a white-labelled personal finance management solution, which is a fully customizable and secure wealth management product. It can seamlessly integrate into the bank’s existing core banking applications and helps banks maximize and optimize their revenues per branch, per customer and sell more products to more customers many times.

At Hysab Kytab, we want to help customers Know More, Guess Less.

TechTalks: The future’s bright, the future is fintech

All over the world, the finance industry is witnessing a new trend as banks are transforming their business models as fintech operators. Previously, it was the other way around , shared Mohammad Yasir Ilyas, the head of one of Pakistan’s leading money management app Hysab Kytab.

He said this while moderating a webinar series titled Tech Talks held by Jaffer Business Systems, where fintech heads and finance experts discussed financial inclusion, digitization and Pakistan’s untapped potential in the financial sector – fintech: which can capture niche markets through innovative, tech-enabled, and easy-to-accessible services.

Mr. Ilyas claimed that the support of regulators was essential for fintech operators and financial institutions in order to introduce various initiatives in the market. According to Mr. Ilyas, in the last two years, the support from regulators has been positive which has led to the growth of fintech business in the country.

Given the current financial setting, in the next five years banking will become a common service in Pakistan and worldwide. Financial literacy and awareness play an important part in making people feel comfortable using services offered by fintech operators.

“The mobile phone penetration is exceptional — from 70% to 80% in Pakistan, but the penetration of banks stands merely at 20% which provides a big opportunity for fintech to come into space benefiting from mobile penetration to launch their products and services,” said Areej Al Medinah, Product Owner at SadaPay.

She added that financial inclusion was a wide phenomenon which should offer its user access to the financial system even without a bank account for basic services and a variety of products and services with a bank account.

The services should be easy to navigate, sustainable and affordable for a wide segment of the customers who can be empowered to make the most of their bank accounts.

“Bank accounts are not a privilege. They are a necessity which should not be based on red tape. Fintech companies do swift processing without excessive documentation as compared to traditional banks,” she explained.

“Fintech operators provide easy access to customers to open bank accounts or have a transactional card in a short span of time as compared to traditional banks with the involvement of a lot of processes and compliance. In this way, the role of fintech is tremendous in promoting digital transactions and financial inclusion in the country,” Ms. Al Medinah further said.

Elphinstone Founder and CEO Farooq Tirmizi believes that the phenomenon of financial inclusion could be promoted at an accelerated pace in Pakistan through the regulator’s plan and that competition should not be intensified between banks and fintech operators but between these entities and different sectors such as real estates.

Pakistan’s IT company NdcTech showcased at one of the largest global banking events held in Excel London

Karachi / London: NdcTech, Pakistan’s leading IT and consulting company was invited to showcase its offerings as a Silver Sponsor at the Temenos Community Forum 2022, one of the most prestigious banking technology events held recently at the world’s financial city, London, UK. Ammara Masood, CEO and President of NdcTech and Asif Peer, CEO Systems Ltd were present at this international forum, alongside other key management

The event not only brought together banking professionals from across the globe, but also provided a huge opportunity to IT Service providers and Fintechs to showcase their offerings. Various Banks showed interest in the offerings, innovations and product demonstrations of NdcTech, which also proved the capabilities of Pakistan’s IT sector.

The event was a hub for connectivity and innovation for Banks, Fintechs, Service Providers where the recent trends and evolving business models in banking were discussed. Banking as a Service (BaaS), Software as a Service, Banking as a platform, embedded finance, and cloud banking were few of the key themes discussed throughout the event.

Temenos also revealed their star of the show “Temenos CEO Navigator”, an industry-leading customer advisory service backed by data from over 100 banks, that will provide powerful business insights to clients. Temenos unveiled its new brand logo and identity during the conference. Their new vision is to be a Banking platform for everyone while combining the power of technology with a human touch.

Speaking with Fintech Finance, Ammara Masood, CEO, NdcTech highlighted the evolution of global business models in banking, including digital banks, Fintechs working as Electronic Money Institutions, and traditional banks with digital innovative services. She further mentioned that “All these institutions need a partner like NdcTech who can meet their evolving requirements, bring innovations, and provide platform capabilities relevant to their model”

PayFast by APPS Becomes the First Fintech in Pakistan to Partner with Visa Through Cybersource

Karachi: PayFast by APPS (“PayFast”) is proud to become the first fintech in Pakistan to partner with international payments leader Visa through Cybersource. The nature of the partnership sees Cybersource offering its robust and dynamic digital payment solution suite to PayFast. It includes E-commerce checkout, digital merchant platform, Fraud Management, and SoftPOS. This initiative paves the path for PayFast to offer a dynamic and secure payment gateway with user friendly UI/UX, thereby helping businesses to offer the acceptance of online payments through debit and credit cards.

The partnership serves as a milestone that advances PayFast’s commitment to bring the company, and Pakistan, to the forefront of the regional fintech landscape. The State Bank licensed and regulated PSO/PSP envisions to extend its reach across international borders, starting with the MENA region

Further, the integration helps expand PayFast’s SoftPos initiative, which will greatly enhance digital payment acceptance for merchants of all sizes by introducing fast, secure, and cost-effective solutions for them to collect online payments. Currently, POS penetration in Pakistan is staggeringly low, with just over 90,000 POS terminals deployed nationwide compared to the millions of merchants in the market. One of the major reasons is the high setup costs that prevent acquirers to serve medium or small sized businesses. As the trend of contactless payments has grown worldwide by over 40% in the past two years, merchants will benefit from a simple, secure, and affordable digital solution to drive sales and maximize their revenue potential. By integrating Cybersource, PayFast can offer the ease, affordability, and speed of integration with SoftPos to its merchants.

Arshad Raza, Chairman– PayFast commended the company’s efforts: “PayFast aspires to make online payment acceptance hassle-free in Pakistan. By onboarding Visa directly through Cybersource, Ecommerce & Business partners of PayFast will gain access to the world’s most advanced industry standards, steering us closer towards this aim. We mark this as a pivotal chapter in our company’s history– especially as we venture to extend our services internationally.”

Adnan Ali, CEO– PayFast, added: “Visa has transformed payment acceptance for businesses worldwide. PayFast’s most recent partnership with them, through Cybersource, is a testament to our innovative strategies and continued promise to bolster Pakistan’s image on an international level. It also reaffirms our vision to make safe, fast and secure digital payment solutions in Pakistan the norm. We are excited to deliver an optimal experience to our clients through this new step and I am proud of the team for securing this feat of making PayFast the first ever Pakistani fintech to partner directly with Visa.”

Leila Serhan, Visa’s Group Country Manager for North Africa, Levant and Pakistan, commented: “As Pakistani consumers increasingly shift online, fraudsters have looked for more ways to exploit them. It is important that merchants are equipped to combat fraud and ensure that consumers feel safe using digital payments over cash-on-delivery. At Visa, we believe cybersecurity is a collective effort, and this partnership with PayFast is a testament to our efforts to help local merchants with their digital transformation.”

Kamil Khan, Visa’s Country Manager for Pakistan, added: “We are excited to partner with PayFast, the first Pakistani fintech company to launch our dynamic Cybersource solution, which offers multiple benefits to merchants and provides customers with a frictionless, secure, and convenient payment solution. We believe this initiative will pave the way for Pakistan’s cashless future.”

Present at the signing ceremony were: Ms. Leila Serhan, Visa- Group Country Manager for North Africa, Levant and Pakistan; Mr. Kamil Khan, Visa- Country Manager for Pakistan; Mr. Amaar Shaikh, Visa- Merchant Sales & Acquiring (Levant and Pakistan); Ms. Bisma Rizwan, Visa- Merchant Sales & Acceptance; Qandeel Fatima- Business Development Manager; Mr. Arshad Raza, PayFast-Chairman; Mr. Adnan Ali, PayFast-CEO; Mr. Faisal Alam, PayFast- Chief Information Officer; Mr. Soheb Roomi, PayFast-Marketing Team Lead; Mr. Fahad Khan, PayFast- Chief Compliance & Risk Officer; Mr. Yousuf Aziz, Head of Digital Payments & Services; Daniyal Ahmed, PayFast- Head of Sales; Jawad Hassan, PayFast- Head of Strategic Partnerships.

NOTE: PayFast is product by Avanza Premier Payment Services (APPS).

To learn more about PayFast visit: www.gopayfast.com

Mobilink Microfinance Bank & CARE International collaborate to promote entrepreneurial ventures with access to digital financial solutions

To bolster the mission of promoting financial inclusion across the nation through innovative digital financial solutions, Mobilink Microfinance Bank Limited (MMBL), Pakistan’s largest digital bank is collaborating with CARE International in Pakistan (CIP). The collaboration is powered by CARE’s Ignite project, funded by the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth, enabling financial and technological access for entrepreneurs, especially females. The Ignite project is part of a global collaboration between CARE and the Center for Inclusive Growth, Mastercard’s social impact arm.

On the occasion, Ms. Romina Khurshid Alam, Special Advisor to the Prime Minister praised the collective efforts of both CARE International and MMBL towards fostering a synergistic approach to enhance the financial inclusion of women entrepreneurs in Pakistan. Moreover, she indicated that women’s economic empowerment is a key priority area for the government and encouraged the promotion of similar initiatives to reach the underbanked segments of the population, especially women. She added that such projects continue to lend unwavering support for women’s long-term financial development and the nation’s economic growth.

Through this strategic partnership, MMBL and CARE aim to accelerate the financial inclusion of more than 12,000 entrepreneurs, especially females who have been running their businesses for at least two years and have employed a minimum of 2-10 staff members. Enhancing access to credit and subsidized loan products helps scale their operations considerably. In addition, the collaboration will also support the capacity building and mentoring of these budding entrepreneurs with a focus on the use of digital technologies. With the power of technology and telecommunication connectivity, female entrepreneurs attending the event were given mobile phones, to facilitate convenient and secure access to premium digital financial services and hybrid lending solutions to help scale their businesses.

Addressing the audience at the event, Ghazanfar Azzam, President & CEO of MMBL said, “There are about 100 million unbanked people in Pakistan, and at least 82% of them are women. Women, in particular, lack access to formal digital financial services, making it difficult for them to participate in economic activity. MMBL, through this strategic partnership with CARE, is focused on training female entrepreneurs across the country to upskill their technical and professional skillsets, thereby reducing poverty and boosting prosperity by financially empowering them. This strategic partnership will play a critical role in promoting financial inclusion across the country and further the common goal of closing the gender gap in the financial sphere.”

Speaking at the launch, the Country Director of CARE International in Pakistan, Adil Sheraz said: “With women constituting nearly 50% of Pakistan’s population, gender equality in all its interventions is a key focus area for CARE. Through this collaboration with MMBL, we seek to facilitate the much-needed access to finance and capacity building for growth-oriented entrepreneurs, especially women. This collaboration with MMBL is part of CARE’s focus on synergistic efforts to enhance financial inclusion in the country, especially for women.”

Lisa Richman, Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa Director for the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth, said: “At Mastercard, we believe that financial inclusion is the path to a prosperous future for all. We are committed to supporting entrepreneurs in their digital transformation journey and through the Center for Inclusive Growth, we will continue to provide entrepreneurs, especially women, with the financial tools, training, know-how, resources, and technologies they need to connect with the digital economy to drive further growth and become more resilient. We are proud to build on our longstanding global partnership with CARE as we mark the next chapter in our journey in Pakistan.”