STAFF REPORT KHI: The mobile phone and smart card banking accounts have surged to nearly 1.45 million in Pakistan, which indicates that the countrys financial sector is now going through a dynamic transition led by the latest technology solutions.
“The existing active players – the Tameer Microfinance Bank (Easypaisa) and UBL (Omni), have so far registered over 1,447,381 mobile wallet accounts (mWallet accounts) of un-banked and under-banked population of the country,” said State Bank of Pakistan Deputy Governor, Kazi Abdul Muktadir, at the launching ceremony of a new product, Easy Paisa Khushaal of Tameer Microfinance Bank (TMFB) and Telenor here.
He said that nearly 30 million BB accounts worth Rs 115 billion were processed during a single quarter (April-June, 2012) by only two players (TMFB and UBL Omni).
Muktadir said that such type of innovations in product designing will not only attract small savings to generate internal funding for Microfinance Banks but also provide savers a feeling of safety and security of insurance embodied with the product.
“Now the time is only of demand-driven innovative products, through which MFBs can easily handle the challenges like scarcity of funding and financial exclusion,” he added.
He said that the Government and the SBP have been supporting the microfinance sector to reach out to the millions of un-served low-income people of the country.