SadaPay, an Islamabad-based Fintech firm, has reportedly been given in-principle approval by the State Bank of Pakistan, or SBP (the nation’s central bank). for an electronic money institution (EMI) license.
SadaPay confirmed that the approval will allow it to provide certain financial services through its digital wallet. The company’s products and services will be subject to supervision by the SBP.
SadaPay has been developed by American businessman Brandon Timinsky, who began working on the online payments wallet when he moved to Pakistan a few years back.
As mentioned in a PDF document shared on SBP’s official website, the online wallet may be used by consumers, local merchants, and freelance workers to perform everyday transactions.
SadaPay joins several other Fintech projects such as JazzCash and EasyPaisa, which are also focused on helping consumers conduct digital payments.
SadaPay will allow Pakistani freelance workers (the world’s fourth-fastest growing freelance community) to receive digital payments from 45 different countries.
Even though Pakistan is home to a large number of freelance workers, it has been a challenge for professionals to accept international payments.
SadaPay claims that its online payment services will focus specifically on helping freelancers, and that this will differentiate the company’s services from other digital wallet providers in the $300+ billion economy.
Customers who will get early access to the platform may register for an account via SadaPay by taking a selfie, and also provide a picture of their ID card. The company noted that users will need to provide some other basic personal information without having to do any lengthy paperwork.
SadaPay says its Mastercard is accepted by 30 million merchants across the globe. The card may be used at physical store locations or at e-commerce portals.
The Fintech startup claims that it’s offering the lowest foreign exchange rate.
SadaPay notes:
“We only pass you our cost of 1.5% for foreign exchange when you make non-PKR purchases with your card.”
SadaPay recently appointed Omer Salimullah, an experienced financial professional, as the Fintech firm’s chief operation officer.
The former finance secretary of Pakistan, Dr. Waqar Masood Khan, has been appointed as chairman of the company’s board.
The company told Mena Bytes:
“As soon as a SadaPay account is activated, a virtual debit card is provisioned for immediate use. Also, users can perform free and instant transfers to any bank in Pakistan, and withdraw cash from all of the 14,500+ domestic ATMs with no fees (3x per month). Furthermore, users can load their accounts with cash at any of 30,000+ retail locations across the country.”
Brandon Timinsky, founder and CEO of SadaPay, remarked:
“It’s really amazing to see how committed the State Bank of Pakistan is to adapting to changes in consumer behavior and advances in technology. In the last few months alone, we’ve witnessed tremendous progress by SBP with the release of a number of new regulations that are certain to make an incredible impact on Pakistan’s economy by catalyzing the digitization of its financial system.”
Dr. Waqar Masood Khan added:
“These efforts have gained momentum since last July. Pakistan [might] soon be a leading country in digitizing its payment system and SadaPay [could potentially] play a prominent role to achieve this goal.”
