Telenor easypaisa completes one year of service

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ISLAMABAD, OCTOBER 15, 2010: Pakistan’s first real branchless banking solution, easypaisa, has successfully completed one year of operations. The service, which was launched jointly by Telenor Pakistan and Tameer Microfinance Bank last year, has helped provide people across Pakistan with access to convenient and secure financial services.

Roar Bjærum, Vice President Financial Services, Telenor Pakistan while commenting on easypaisa’s one year of completion said: “Easypaisa is a uniquely convenient way for everyone to carry out financial transactions such as money transfer and bill payments. More than six million transactions worth Rs10 billion have been moved through the system in this one year, with a million transactions worth nearly Rs2 billion moved in the last month alone. These numbers reflect our customers’ increased trust in the services. Our aim is to continue to change the way financial transactions are carried out in Pakistan, and to develop a portfolio of easypaisa services that meet different customer needs.”

Ali Abbas Sikander, Group Executive Director Technology & Operations, Tameer Microfinance Bank, speaking about the milestone said: “In Pakistan, there are currently an estimated 30 million economically active people who have no access to basic transactional services, let alone savings and other financial safety net solutions. Now, with easypaisa, these people can have a bank account without a physical bank branch and can conduct financial transactions from the comfort of the home using just a basic cell phone. All transactions are transparent, regulated by the State Bank of Pakistan, and are accounted for towards the country’s economy.”

The service, when it was launched a year ago, was available at 2,200 outlets. Currently, easypaisa services are available at more than 11,000 outlets in 700 urban and rural areas across Pakistan. The spread is even greater than the number of bank branches in Pakistan which is 8,000.

Easypaisa has been reviewed in the international media too such as on Al-Jazeera and by the Financial Times. CNN has called easypaisa ‘the model of the future’. Other easypaisa products and solutions in the pipeline include corporate payment solutions and insurance, among others.