Pakistan's premier branchless banking service, Easypaisa has launched Khushaal Munafa, the first savings product on a branchless banking platform offering monetary returns to its Easypaisa Mobile Account customers. The launch of Khushaal Munafa is yet another important step towards the financial inclusion of rural and semi-urban Pakistanis, many of whom have no choice today but to save their funds in informal savings.
Khushaal Munafa offers Easypaisa Mobile Account customers a profit of up to 9 per cent on saving Rs 2,000 or more in their Mobile Accounts. The profit offered by Khushaal Munafa is also unique in the sense that it is calculated on a daily basis and the profit is transferred in the mobile accounts at the end of each month.
Khushaal Munafa is available to both existing and new Mobile Account customers. Speaking on the occasion, Roar Bjaerum, Chief Financial Services Officer at Telenor Pakistan said, "Savings are an integral part of financial inclusion and Khushaal Munafa will allow Easypaisa Mobile Account customers to absorb fluctuations in daily income and financial shocks.
This product will focus on micro savings, reducing vulnerability of low income families to unexpected events and promote savings as a way to increase their opportunities to grow and improve quality of lives." Nadeem Hussain, CEO and President, Tameer Micro Finance Bank limited said: "Khushaal Munafa will help create a financial ecosystem for the bottom of the pyramid and empower them with the basic rights to avail services that provide an affordable and convenient method of integration into the world of financial services."
Currently, there are four different savings plans under Khushaal Munafa being offered to Mobile Account customers with minimum balance requirements ranging from Rs 2,000 to Rs 25,000, offering a maximum profit of 9 per cent, which is one of the highest rates in the industry for savings product. After subscribing to a particular Khushaal Munafa plan, the minimum balance according to the selected plan will be locked in the system and customers will only be able to perform transactions on the account balance in excess of the minimum balance requirements. Profit will be calculated and paid out on the total balance in the Mobile Account Existing Easypaisa Mobile Account customers can subscribe to Khushaal Munafa by dialing the Telenor helpline 345 from their mobile phones. Customers wanting to open their Mobile Account need to visit their nearest Telenor Sales and Service Center or Telenor Franchise or Tameer Microfinance Bank Branch.-PR