Pakistan has emerged as one of the fastest-growing markets for freelancers and digital services. Although the majority of the nation’s residents are living in poverty, and the country continues to face major political and economic challenges, there is still a significantly large digital economy that has been growing steadily, especially following the COVID outbreak. High-potential fintechs like Abhi and Sadapay have started serving the country’s consumers and business organizations with an extensive range of services.
Last month, Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with SadaPay, a digital mobile wallet company, in order “to assist eRozgaar freelancers by providing them with easy and secure access to their monetary funds.”
PITB eGovernance DG Sajid Latif and SadaPay CEO Brandon Timinsky signed the MoU on behalf of their respective organizations.
SadaPay Marketing Head Muhammad Asad, PITB Director Salman Amin, Senior Programme Manager Ahmed Islam, focal person Wishal Naveed and other senior officials were also present on this occasion.
DG Sajid Latif said:
“eRozgaar is a joint project of PITB and Youth Affairs, Sports, Archeology & Tourism (YASAT) Department. SadaPay will issue freelancer accounts to every e-Rozgaar graduate at no cost for the duration of this agreement along with customized debit cards with PITB printed logo. The MoU will be a game-changer for the eRozgaar community in Pakistan as up till now, more than 16,000 students have been graduated from 32 eRozgaar centres across Punjab with online earnings of more than Rs230 million.”
SadaPay CEO Brandon Timinsky said that SadaPay “has the best alternative for foreign transactions which will facilitate this process for our freelancers with minimal charges.”
“E-Rozgaar freelancers will be issued accounts and debit cards free of cost for three years and will not have any monthly or annual fees for an account or card issuance. There will be no IBFT fee for transfers below Rs10,000 while the fee will be Rs8 for IBFT transfers from Rs10,000 to Rs250,000.”
SadaPay is registered as Sadapay Private Limited with the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan, is regulated by the State Bank of Pakistan, and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of SadaPay Technologies Ltd., registered in the Dubai International Financial Center under commercial fintech license.
SadaPay Mastercard debit cards issued pursuant “to a license by Mastercard Asia/Pacific Pte. Ltd.”
It is also worth noting that the Bank of Punjab (BOP), in pursuance of its long term vision to enable and promote an inclusive digital payments eco-system in Pakistan, has partnered with SadaPay, an upcoming Electronic Money Institution (EMI) as primary Trust/Settlement Bank and BIN Sponsor.
Bank of Punjab will safeguard SadaPay customers’ deposits “in trust and assist in the settlement of domestic and international transactions.”
SadaPay is working to “eliminate the complexity of money management in Pakistan through an entirely digital experience.”
SadaPay has removed the high costs “to maintain a network of physical branches and passes those savings to their customers by doing away with traditional banking fees.”
With a core competency of simplifying international transfers, SadaPay will work towards helping freelancers easily “accept instant payments from overseas clients. Then, the team plans to expand globally to facilitate seamless digital remittances from the diaspora of 10 million+ overseas Pakistanis who are sending over $20 billion home to Pakistan each year, 75% of which is cash over-the-counter.”
Mr. Waqas Anis said:
“Fin-Tech is causing rapid disruptions in the industry and conventional banks have to accept this as a cultural shift. The market is ripe for interoperable and collaborative models, which build on the diverse areas of expertise each player brings to the table.”
