Easypaisa marks its one-year anniversary

Easypaisa, a joint service from Telenor Pakistan and Tameer Microfinance Bank, has helped provide people across Pakistan with access to convenient and secure financial services for one year.

The service was initially available at 2,200 outlets. Currently, easypaisa services are available at more than 11,000 outlets in 700 urban and rural areas across Pakistan. The spread is even greater than the number of bank branches in Pakistan, which currently totals 8,000.

Easypaisa has been reviewed in the international media such as on Al-Jazeera and the Financial Times. CNN has called easypaisa ‘the model of the future’. Other easypaisa products and solutions in the pipeline include corporate payment solutions and insurance, among others.

“Easypaisa is a uniquely convenient way for everyone to carry out financial transactions such as money transfer and bill payments. More than six million transactions worth Pak Rupees 10 billion have been moved through the system during the past year, with a million transactions worth nearly Pak Rupees 2 billion moved in the last month alone,” said Roar Bjærum, Vice President Financial Services, Telenor Pakistan. “These numbers reflect our customers’ increased trust in the services. Our aim is to continue to change the way financial transactions are carried out in Pakistan, and to develop a portfolio of easypaisa services that meet different customer needs.”

Ali Abbas Sikander, Group Executive Director Technology & Operations, Tameer Microfinance Bank, also commented on easypaisa’s one-year milestone.

“In Pakistan, there are currently an estimated 30 million economically active people who have no access to basic transactional services, let alone savings and other financial safety net solutions. Now, with easypaisa, these people can have a bank account without a physical bank branch and can conduct financial transactions from the comfort of the home using just a basic cell phone. All transactions are transparent, regulated by the State Bank of Pakistan, and are accounted for towards the country’s economy,” said Sikander.