KARACHI: President Karachi Chamber of Commerce & Industry Junaid Esmail Makda has said that development in branchless banking has been very rapid in Pakistan as large number people have turned towards internet banking and it was really heartening to see that the figure is growing day by day.
“However, this segment was still in its nascent stage where Branchless bankers should develop value-added services for the existing account-holders to speed up growth in the sector and continue their efforts to bring-in unbanked people into the system”, he added while speaking as Chief Guest at the 4th Annual Mobile Commerce & Digital Banking Summit & Exhibition 2019 held here in a local hotel on Wednesday.
Senior Vice President KCCI Khurram Shahzad, Vice President KCCI Asif Sheikh Javaid, Advisor Banking & Insurance Subcommittee Ateeq-ur-Rehman, CEO The Professionals Network Mehmood Tareen, Chief Systems Officer PIA Kashif R. Rana, Managing Director Daraz.pk Ehsan Saya, KCCI Managing Committee Members and representatives of several banks also attended the Summit.
President KCCI, while highlighting the significance of Digital Banking and Payments, said that the concept of mobile commerce and digital banking was relatively new in Pakistan but it was growing steadily. After successful application of Mobile Commerce as an alternative channel for delivery of payment services in developed countries, the concept was now also taking roots in developing countries.
He was of the view that presence of digital technologies like Mobile, Cloud and the Internet were creating new and valuable avenues and the means to do the cost effective business. He said that as level of awareness was increasing, the expectations of customers towards banking services were changing therefore the digital consumers are demanding more choices, immediate availability and direct access to ready-to-use services.
He suggested that majority of Ecommerce players should try making mobile wallets as the preferred mode of payment rather than Cash-on-Delivery (CoD) by bringing change in consumer mindset and behavior and then have the mobile wallet ecosystem integrated to their systems by becoming their clients. “This would lead to documentation of the economy which the government has been striving to do since the last many years”, he added.
Junaid Makda said that digital payment solutions bring vast amounts of undocumented cash into a formal payments system and bank accounts, thereby providing a solution to government’s problems of documenting the economy. He stressed that boost given to the mobile banking industry would not only help drive a game changing innovation in our economy, it would bring the benefits of modern financial services to the unbanked, and help drain the swamp of a vast cash economy that provides the oxygen for the undocumented sector.
He said that Pakistanis were likely to spend “several hundred million dollars” on online shopping by 2020 as a greater part of the country adopts digital technology and sees the launch of more ecommerce portals. “There is a long way to go. With just 3% of the Pakistani population indulging in online shopping, several initiatives are starting with online businesses in Pakistan to reach out to their potential market, build up their credibility, and garner consumer trust”, he added.
