Category: Technology

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

Registration of Social Media Company

Islamabad: MICO World Limited, a social media company, registered itself with Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) under the “Removal and Blocking of Unlawful Online Content (Procedure, Oversight and Safeguards) Rules, 2021”.

MICO World Limited, a Hong Kong based company, has been registered by PTA as a Significant Social Media Company (SSMC) under Rule 7 (6) of Removal and Blocking of Unlawful Online Content (Procedure, Oversight and Safeguards) Rules 2021. The SSMC submitted application under the Rules for registration of two apps i.e. MICO and YoHo which was approved by the Authority. Representatives of the tech company attended the event held today at PTA headquarters and completed the registration process.

Further to registration of two platforms i.e Joyo Technology Pakistan Pvt Ltd (Snack Video) and BIGO Service Pakistan Pvt Ltd (BIGO Live, Likee), today’s event regarding registration of third company is another testimony of PTA’s commitment to pursue the government’s vision of digital Pakistan in order to help grow digital economy of the country.

Pakistan’s No.1 Voice and Data Network Ufone 4G introduces Industry’s ‘Sab Se Bari Offer’

Islamabad: Pakistan’s No.1 Voice and Data Network, Ufone 4G has introduced the industry’s biggest and most affordable hybrid bundle, ‘Sab Se Bari Offer’ to provide its customers with the best user experience possible. Ufone 4G’s hybrid bundle offers greater usability, control, and enablement to its users so that they stay connected for longer through the company’s superior voice and data while they engage in activities related to work, education, or leisure.

Ufone 4G’s latest offering, ‘Sab Se Bari Offer’ is yet another effort to deliver ease, convenience, and an unparalleled telecom experience to the customers. The bundle offers the most MBs for the lowest charges in the industry in order to help bring quality voice and data services within the reach of every customer. Ufone 4G’s ‘Sab Se Bari Offer’ offers free calls to Ufone and PTCL numbers and 40 GB data for a week on only Rs.299 load. The huge data bulk will improve the customers’ experience on social media, entertainment, gaming, education, work, and other uses, while voice calls can really go on forever.

Ufone 4G has continuously improved and modernized its network and services to cater to the evolving voice and data requirements of its customers. Following the acquisition of 4G spectrum, the company made aggressive advances on the data front while ensuring the highest quality of service delivery. Its renewed focus on quality and innovative services eventually translated into enhanced customer loyalty and expansion of the company’s subscriber base. The latest PTA indicators show that the company has acquired significant data subscribers making it the leader in new customer acquisitions.

Similarly, Ufone 4G was recently declared the best voice and data service provider by Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) in its ‘Mobile Networks Benchmark Report for 2022. PTA had conducted systemic tests and trials of all telecom operators across all federal and provincial capitals including major motorways & highways to ascertain the quality of service, which affirmed Ufone 4G’s continued focus and commitment to delivering the highest quality connectivity to its customers.

This is also due to Ufone’s commitment to bridging the digital divide in the country by bringing more and more unserved and underserved segments of the population into the fold of digital inclusion. The company is particularly focusing on increasing its women user base so that society can collectively harness the fruits of high-speed internet. Ufone 4G’s recent efforts are testaments that its customers continue to comfortably lounge at the heart of Ufone 4G’s business philosophy as is evident from its long-cherished corporate slogan: ‘Tum Hi Tou Ho! (It’s all about U!).

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.”

Over one million Nokia feature phones produced in Pakistan

Karachi: HMD Global, the home of Nokia phones, has achieved the milestone of producing over one million locally assembled mobile phones in Pakistan in just 6 months after setting up the assembly unit in the country.

The company has partnered with Techno Pak Electronics (Private) Limited last year in setting up the assembly plant of Nokia phones in Pakistan which has invested an amount of $2 million in its factory & related channels in 2021 which generated over 500 skilled jobs so far.

Arif Shafique, Country Manager Pakistan HMD Global, the home of Nokia phones, said, “Nokia Phones continue to be a favourite product among different ages of mobile phone users in Pakistan for the past many years. The demand for our handsets has been evident in the local market with the production of over one million units in a very short span of time.”

The plant capacity is to produce over half a million mobile phones per month and our aim is to assemble the complete range of Nokia phones from Pakistan. HMD Global has made a significant contribution to the economy through the transfer of technology to the local level, tax revenues to the national kitty, saving of foreign exchange and most importantly creating more local jobs.

“Opening the facility in Pakistan is not only an important business decision for us, but also a historic initiative as we continue to expand our global footprint with it. We aim to scale up our productions every month so that we will be able to meet the demand of our Pakistani consumers,” Shafique added.

He expressed his hope that local authorities and regulators will continue to extend their full support to the industry for doing business and making investments in Pakistan.

Carrefour Partners with Mastercard to Celebrate Mondays

  • Weekly prizes and instant discounts for Mastercard holders spending over 5000 rupees at Carrefour each Monday from June 13 – July 18

Lahore, Pakistan, June 13, 2022: Carrefour, owned and operated by Majid Al Futtaim in Pakistan, has introduced ‘Mastercard Mondays’. Through this offer, in-store customers who spend above 5000 rupees through their Mastercard will get a chance to enter a raffle draw to win exciting weekly prizes including a mobile phone and memorabilia signed by Wasim Akram. Online shoppers making purchases through Carrefour’s mobile app will also benefit from this offer by availing an instant discount of 1000 rupees on all transactions made on their Mastercard above 5,000 rupees.

The offer will be applicable for all purchases made on a Monday between June 13 to July 18 at all Carrefour stores in Karachi, Lahore & Islamabad or through Carrefour’s online website or mobile app using a Mastercard for payment.

Talking about the Mastercard Mondays offer, Umer Lodhi, Country Manager of Carrefour Pakistan said: “We are thrilled to have partnered with Mastercard to elevate everyday retail and make Mondays more exciting for everyone. We look forward to welcoming our valued customers so they can avail the special offer and enter to win fantastic prizes.”

In addition to the convenience of in-store shopping, Carrefour also offers its delivery service through the Carrefour Pakistan app and customers can use MyCLUB to gain instant discounts, earning, and redeeming points. For further information, please head to https://www.carrefour.pk/mafpak/en/ to discover the hottest deals.

NdcTech appoints Nutshell Communications as strategic communications partner

KARACHI: NdcTech has entered into a strategic communication partnership with Nutshell Communications (Private) Limited.

Nutshell Communications will provide external stakeholder engagement, corporate branding and strategic communication services to NdcTech.

An agreement in this regard was signed by both parties recently at the NdcTech head office by Ammara Masood, CEO & President NdcTech, and Rabia Ahmad, Director & Chief Operating Officer, Nutshell Communications.

The signing was witnessed by Muhammad Azfar Ahsan, Founder & CEO Nutshell group, and senior officials from both organizations.

CDC ITMinds Limited signs an agreement with Pak Qatar Asset Management Company Limited and Pak Qatar Family Takaful Limited for Back Office service provisioning

Karachi, June 6, 2022: ITMinds Limited (ITMinds), a wholly owned subsidiary of Central Depository Company of Pakistan Limited (CDCPL), has entered into outsourcing arrangement with Pak Qatar Asset Management Company Limited (PQAMCL) & Pak Qatar Family Takaful Limited (PQFTL) to provide Back Office Accounting Services to PQAMCL & PQFTL. The agreements were signed by Mr. Farhan Shaukat CEO-PQAMCL, Mr. Ahsan Qureshi CFO-PQFTL with Mr. Iqleem-uz-Zaman Khan CEO-ITMinds in the presence of Mr. Badiuddin Akber Director-ITMinds & CEO-CDCPL.

 

Through this arrangement, ITMinds will facilitate PQAMCL and PQFTL in concentrating on their core business activities, i.e. managing investors’ money and savings, by relieving them from various non-core  critical  back office functions like accounting services,   Settlement of portfolios, Unit management related activities, Funds NAV calculation, Facilitation for Compliance/ Reporting, Information Security, Business Continuity and IT arrangements.

 

Commenting on the occasion, Mr. Farhan Shaukat, CEO-PQAMCL, said that this arrangement will enable PQAMCL to concentrate on its core business of managing investors’ funds while outsourcing the back office functions to a Professional Fund Administrator. Also commenting on the occasion, Mr. Badiuddin Akber, Director ITMinds & CEO-CDCPL, said that the concept of outsourcing non-core critical business activities has proved to be efficient and cost-effective in today’s business world. Hence, we have commissioned ITMinds with this aim to enable AMCs and other organizations to outsource their back office functions to a competent and reliable BPO partner, thus facilitating them to augment the focus of their management on the core business which is more integral to their commercial success while achieving efficiency, scalability & transparency of processes. Mr. Iqleem-uz-Zaman Khan CEO-ITMinds highlighted that as of 31st May 2022, ITMinds has 8 active clients leveraging economies of scale with ITMinds BPO services, while more clients are also in the pipeline. At the ceremony Mr. Waqas Ashraf, CFO- ITMinds and others senior members of the Companies were also present.

TowerCos will drive economic growth across emerging markets, study by edotco and Roland Berger finds

As digital infrastructure providers, TowerCos can help MNOs build advanced 5G networks and offer affordable 5G connectivity across the nation

TowerCos are poised to multiply socio-economic benefits in emerging markets – saving MNOs up to US$10 billion while generating a cumulative saving of US$67 billion to consumers. They can also reduce up to 17 million metric tonnes in carbon footprint by 2025

KUALA LUMPUR–: edotco Group, a leading integrated telecommunications infrastructure services company in Asia, launched a study in collaboration with Roland Berger titled, ‘Towering Above: Building Tomorrow’s Digital Infrastructure in Asia’. The study estimates that Tower Companies (TowerCos) can help Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) save up to US$10 billion through infrastructure sharing and result in cumulative savings of up to US$67 billion for consumers due to affordable 5G connectivity by 2025. Further, the study also shows that TowerCos can enable sustainable digital connectivity by reducing up to 17 million metric tonnes in carbon footprint by 2025.

The report, launched during a panel discussion featuring edotco, Roland Berger and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), explores the critical roles and potential impact of TowerCos across nine key Asian markets – Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Bangladesh, Pakistan, the Philippines, Myanmar, Cambodia and Sri Lanka. The report also demonstrates how TowerCos are stimulating sustainable digital connectivity to realise incremental socio-economic benefits for industries, societies and governments, in addition to assessing how key policies and regulatory reform recommendations can unlock such opportunities.

TowerCos and MNOs must evolve symbiotically in the next normal

According to the report, digital infrastructure is becoming a critical digital economy enabler, with 5G expected to transform the industry.  TowerCos are now transforming their roles to become digital infrastructure providers, in addition to working closely with industry stakeholders to undertake deeper forms of active infrastructure sharing. Not only are these services critical to stimulate development during the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, but such partnerships are also crucial for preparing economies for the 5G era – an age that will further revolutionise network usage and unlock new opportunities while easing the MNOs’ investment and deployment challenges.

“While MNOs are rapidly expanding their network in low Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) markets such as Asia, they face a significant challenge in keeping their cost per GB under control while striving to meet the industry demands and adhering to regulators’ intended policy and regulatory outcomes. These can only be addressed sustainably through a higher degree of infrastructure sharing,” said Gayan Koralage, Director of Group Strategy, edotco Group.

The report also noted that – despite Southeast Asia and South Asia being among the fastest-growing sub-regions in terms of average data usage per user – MNOs have not been able to capitalise on the traffic trend. This is causing the continuous decline in ARPU, making it challenging for MNOs to generate returns that commensurate with their cost of capital.

“In overcoming the MNOs’ investment conundrums, solutions based on software-defined networking and a stronger partnership with next-generation TowerCos can foster greater scalability, speed and cost advantages. Such partnerships are rapidly unfolding in developed markets, showcasing the TowerCos’ emerging catalytic roles in business, society and the environment,” he added.

Regulatory reforms required to drive growth and multiply socio-economic benefits

The study further notes that leading TowerCos are poised to assist MNOs by moving up the value chain. Namely, this is by offering innovative 5G-enabled solutions such as OpenRAN, Network-as-a-Service solutions and Edge Computing to help MNOs achieve greater cost- and network-efficiency.

“Given today’s telecommunications industry dynamics, TowerCos must evolve to become active digital infrastructure providers to provide the needed industry scalability, efficiency and flexibility. However, the right regulatory environment is needed with five policy reforms critical to power growth: strong digital infrastructure mandate, conducive licensing & ownership regime, active promotion of infra sharing, streamlined process and enablement of adjacent services.,” stated Damien Dujacquier, Managing Partner of SEA, Roland Berger.

The study notes that forward-looking regulatory reforms and policy changes are needed for TowerCos to realise their potential in the next normal. These include providing incentives and introducing a more conducive regulatory framework for TowerCos to explore more innovative partnerships and services.

To discover more insights from the Towering Above: Building Tomorrow’s Digital Infrastructure in Asia study, visit https://edotcogroup.com/towering-above/

Consumer Demand for Digital Currencies Expected to Increase

A new report from Economist Impact commissioned by Crypto.com, provides a gauge of changes in consumer sentiment toward digital currencies and the trend toward a cashless society.In 2020 and 2021, Economist Impact conducted surveys to measure the relative acceptance of digital currencies and other digital payment methods, and found that the trend towards a cashless society was growing stronger. A new survey of 3,000 consumers, and another of 150 institutional investors and treasury management respondents was launched in January and February 2022 to assess how sentiment around digital currencies has changed in the past year.The survey finds that while the share of respondents who report that they always (as close to 100% of purchases as possible) use digital payments instead of banknotes, coins, or credit cards has remained largely similar over the past two years at 24%, more than three in four consumers expect their countries to become largely cashless within the next five years.In fact, 18% of respondents say the country in which they live will become cashless in the next year or two, compared with 17% in 2021 and 14% a year earlier. In keeping with this trend, only 13% now say their country will never become cashless compared with 19% in 2021 and 28% in 2020.The significance of governments’ role in this shift toward a cashless society is made clear by the survey results. For instance, among those who believe their country will become cashless, government and the public sector is seen as the biggest driver of this (49% compared with 27% in 2021).This echoes findings from the institutional survey that regulations can enable acceptance and adoption. On the flip side, government regulations are also picked as one of three main barriers to becoming cashless by more than one in four (27%) of consumers, up from 20% in 2021.Additionally, 37% of consumers surveyed expect their governments or central banks to launch a CBDC in the next three years. A similar share expects them to make cryptocurrencies legal tender for transactions in their countries.The optimism around CBDCs is seen among institutions as well, with 65% saying they expect them to replace physical currencies in their countries, up from 56% in 2021. There is also optimism around growing understanding and trust of digital currencies—for example, only 35% consider that a primary obstacle to greater institutional investor or corporate treasury use of open-source digital currencies, down from 47% a year earlier. However, a larger share (41%) view regulations as a barrier this year than they did last year (32%).Charles Ross, principal at Economist Impact and editor of this report, says: “The results of this year’s research show considerable development in the ecosystem for digital assets and currencies globally. Both consumers and institutions are more optimistic about the move to cashless today than they were a year ago and more interested in digital assets. While some barriers remain—and market fluctuations such as those we have witnessed in the crypto markets in recent months can test expectations—the shift away from physical to digital money is well underway.”Visit impact.economist.com/projects/digimentality-2022/ for the full report.

Exit mobile version