The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), the regulator of non-bank financial institutions in the country, recently introduced a regulatory sandbox, inviting companies to propose pilot tests of novel services. It approved the following six: a digital insurance service
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MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Easypaisa of Pakistan Partners with NADRA, Enabling Access to 12k Kiosks; Receives $45m in Equity from Ant, Telenor
Easypaisa, a digital payment platform owned by Pakistan’s Telenor Microfinance Bank (TMB), recently partnered with government-backed National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) Technologies Limited,
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: State Bank of Pakistan Increases Limits on Microloan Size, Annual Income, Gold Loans to Help Microfinance Institutions, Clients Respond to COVID-19 Pandemic
The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), that country’s central bank, recently took additional steps to relieve pressure on microborrowers and microbanks caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, including the following: (1) for general-purpose loans, increasing the maximum loan size from PKR 150,000 (USD 900) to PKR 350,000 (USD 2,100), with a loosened annual income cap of PKR 1.2 million (USD 7,000) to qualify; (2) for enterprise and housing loans, increasing the maximum loan size from PKR 1 million (USD 6,000) to PKR 3 million (USD 18,000), with an income cap of PKR 1.5 million (USD 9,000); and (3) increasing to 50 percent the portion of a microbank’s gross loan portfolio that may consist of loans secured by gold.
Additionally, SBP is allowing microborrowers to restructure their loans if they
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Jazzcash, Mastercard Partner to Expand Card-based, Digital Payments in Pakistan
Jazzcash, a unit of Netherlands-based Veon, recently partnered with Mastercard, a US-based payments company, to broaden the offerings of the mobile wallet service it operates in Pakistan. Jazzcash, which was founded in 2012, enables its users to send and receive money via mobile phones. Under the new partnership, Jazzcash customers will be able to use
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Conflicting Telecom Regulations, Cumbersome Utility Account Processes Limit Impact of Credit Bureau Act on Financial Inclusion in Pakistan
Mumtaz Hussain Syed, the CEO of Pakistan-based technology consultancy Aequitas Information Services, reportedly has argued that at least two factors have reduced the effectiveness of his country’s Credit Information Bureau Act of 2015. The law requires “financial and credit institutions to…share data with
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Pakistan Launches Electronic Registry of Movable Assets, with Support from IFC
The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan recently created an electronic registry to encourage the country’s banks, microfinance institutions (MFIs) and leasing companies to accept moveable assets as collateral for loans. The collateral registry will help these institutions “to register rights in moveable assets in offering credit to people, as well as micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises” (MSMEs). Moveable assets may include
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: FinTech Lab Accelerator Accepting Applications from Startups in Pakistan Through January 31
The publicly traded National Bank of Pakistan, the Pakistan-based consultancy Trioca Ventures and the Asia, Pacific, Middle East and Africa (APMEA) division of Fern Software recently launched the National FinTech Lab (NFL) Accelerator Program for financial technology (fintech) startups in Pakistan. The 15-week program offers a platform for selected startups to develop a working proof-of-concept of their financial solutions integrated real-time with Fern Software’s core banking system. Participating firms will also collaborate with
MICROFINANCE EVENT: 9th Global Islamic Microfinance Forum; December 11-13, 2019; Lahore, Pakistan
The aim of this event is to increase awareness of Islamic finance as an option to help people improve their lives, particularly those with low incomes. Instead of charging conventional interest,
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Asian Development Bank (ADB) Loans $25m to Kashf Foundation to Expand Microfinance for Women in Pakistan
The Asian Development Bank (ADB), a Philippines-based multilateral institution, recently approved a loan of USD 25 million to support the operations of Kashf Foundation, a provider of microfinance services in Pakistan. The loan is intended to help expand access to
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Woman-owned Fintech Tez of Pakistan, Green Girls Organization of Cameroon Win $200k in Visa Everywhere Initiative
Tez Financial Services, a private firm in Pakistan, and Green Girls Organization, an NGO in Cameroon, each recently won prizes of USD 100,000 in the inaugural iteration of the Women’s Global Edition of the Visa Everywhere Initiative, a program of US-based payments technology company Visa that is intended to
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Easypaisa Mobile Money Service of Telenor Microfinance Bank Offering Financial Access at Total Parco Fuel Stations in Pakistan
Customers of Easypaisa, a mobile money service of Telenor Microfinance Bank, are gaining access to financial services at the 800 Total Parco gas stations in Pakistan. The fuel stations have begun accepting Easypaisa to make purchases, and they are scheduled begin offering
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Karandaaz Unifies Data on Financial Services in Pakistan into Single Portal
An NGO named Karandaaz Pakistan recently launched a collection of data on financial services and “selected socioeconomic indicators” on
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Group Lender in Pakistan Borrows from C-Quadrat Dual Return Vision Microfinance Fund
An NGO in Pakistan has secured a loan from the Dual Return Vision Microfinance Fund of C-Quadrat Asset Management (AM), a member of the Austria-based C-Quadrat Investment Group. The NGO provides group loans to female microentrepreneurs, including farmers. All of these loans include health and
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Invest in Visions’ IIV Mikrofinanzfonds Lends $4.7m to Microfinance Institution ASA Pakistan
Germany-based Invest in Visions (IIV) recently announced that it loaned USD 4.7 million in July to ASA Pakistan, a microfinance institution (MFI) in Pakistan. IIV disbursed the loan from its microfinance investment vehicle, IIV Mikrofinanzfonds, which lends to MFIs in developing countries.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Orange, Safaricom, Telenor, Tigo, Vodacom Earn First GSMA Mobile Money Certifications for Security, Consumer Protection in Africa, Pakistan
Based on assessments conducted by Italy-based MicroFinanza Rating, five organizations in Africa and Pakistan have earned the first GSMA Mobile Money Certifications, verifying their ability “to deliver secure and reliable services, to protect the rights of consumers and to
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Ant Financial Buys 45% Equity Stake in Pakistan’s Telenor Microfinance Bank for $184m, Anticipating Synergies Between Alipay, Easypaisa
Zhejiang Ant Small & Micro Financial Services Group, which is controlled by Jack Ma, a co-founder of Chinese web retailer Alibaba, recently agreed to pay USD 184.5 million to acquire a 45-percent stake in Telenor Microfinance Bank, a Pakistani unit of Norway’s Telenor Group. Telenor Microfinance, which has 20 million customers as of 2018, launched its Easypaisa
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Netherlands’ FMO Lending $5m to Kashf Foundation of Pakistan to Support Women Microentrepreneurs
The Netherlands Development Finance Company, a government-backed institution also known by its Dutch acronym FMO, recently announced it will lend USD 5 million to the Pakistan-based Kashf Foundation in order to support
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Analytics Private Limited (APL) to Use IBM Technology to Help FINCA Pakistan Understand Customers Better, Improve Digital Financial Services
FINCA Pakistan, an affiliate of the US-based Foundation for International Community Assistance (FINCA International), recently hired Analytics Private Limited (APL), a Pakistani technology company, to help it deepen