An overview of the technology domains that are essential for setting up a Digital Financial Services ecosystem. The Financial Services industry in Pakistan is currently at varying degrees of digital maturity. While on one side we have organizations that are leading the digital transformation and innovation in the industry; on the far side of the spectrum we have organizations which are in the preliminary stages of their digital journeys. The telecoms are leading the digital front – benefitting from their technology reliant core business. The banks are following up with their digital strategies and tactical plans to transform the digital journey of their customers. These are followed by government institutions which have a far greater outreach to the unbanked and under-served population of the country.

At Karandaaz Pakistan, we are committed to uplifting the overall knowledge and abilities of the Digital Financial Services (DFS) industry. There is a need to quickly capitalize on new market opportunities. Players who want to jump on the DFS bandwagon have a lot of catching up to do. Karandaaz Pakistan sees this as a significant opportunity to improve service delivery by providing a means to digitize a range of payment use cases. A considerable impact can be delivered by digitizing government payments alone. This is because digitization helps reduce the cost of a transaction. It also provides greater access to formal financial services by simplifying the procedural requirements of opening a digital transaction account and performing digital transactions. Such interventions hold the potential for increasing digital financial inclusion for the unbanked by collaboration between the regulator, various government institutions, commercial banks, and telecoms.