Six million mobile accounts: 'Easypaisa becomes third largest bank of Pakistan'

Easypaisa, a leading branchless banking service, claimed to have become the country's third largest bank in terms of accounts. "We have over six million Easypaisa mobile accounts that make us the third largest bank of the country," said Omar Moeen Malik, head of Easypaisa strategy at Telenor. Habib Bank Limited and National Bank of Pakistan, the Telenor official said, were the two banks ahead of Easypaisa.
Thursday saw Easypaisa, a joint venture between Tameer Microfinance Bank and Telenor Pakistan, launching Easypay: the first end-to-end Online Payment Solution to facilitate different payment options for online merchants and their customers. Malik said his company's daily transaction amounted to Rs 0.7 million through 65,000 shops in more than 800 cities of Pakistan. "We moved two percent of GDP last year and would double this amount this year," said he adding Easypay envisages a three-pronged payment mode: through mobile accounts, Easypaisa shops and credit cards.
Pakistan, he said, had 15 million mobile users, 30 million internet users, 20 million facebook users, over 2,000 e-commerce stores and Rs 3 billion ($30 million) annual volume of online transactions at present. Citing a study, Malik said, the volume of online transactions in Pakistan had the potential to balloon to $600 million by 2017. Underlining the importance of online transactions, the Telenor official said there was huge physical cash, around Rs 2-3 trillion, lying outside the banking system in Pakistan.
"Who owns this huge sum, no one knows," he said. He, however, said people were fast switching to online transactions specially while shopping. Online transactions, he said, was a risk-free activity compared to the "habitual" Cash On Delivery system that had flourished over time for lack of an alternative. The Easypay bundles secure, centralised and convenient payments available on easy to plug-in APIs, with widespread access through multiple channels, and value added services like advanced analytics and reporting, to become the first complete payment suite in the country.
Easypay provides multiples ways of making payments for online shoppers. The customers can pay directly to an online merchant through their Easypaisa Mobile Account, or they can make payments at any of the 65,000 Easypaisa shops across Pakistan. They can also use their credit/debit cards safely and with no added cost through the Easypay platform. Speaking on this occasion, Nadeem Hussain, CEO Tameer Microfinance Bank said: "We are committed to bringing innovative solutions to our customers. The introduction of Easypay is another step towards facilitating our customers by delivering convenient solutions with transformational effects."
Yahya Khan, Chief Financial Services Officer, Telenor Pakistan said: "Easypaisa always strives to be at the forefront to contribute towards economic development in Pakistan. This consolidated solution will help boost the e-commerce industry in Pakistan by offering secure, instant and easy integration of payments for online trade. Easypaisa will continue to offer Pakistanis with ground-breaking services and set precedence for the industry," he added. The service is particularly beneficial for online merchants by allowing them to make all their settlements on a single account with real-time notifications. Easypay also offers the lowest service charges compared to existing direct and indirect payment collection processes. These benefits have triggered a rapid uptake of Easypay with some of the most popular online stores like, homeshopping.pk, tohfay.com and onlinebazaar.pk already on board and offering exciting discounts on choosing Easypay as a mode of payment online.