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Visa targets 10-fold rise in Pakistan's digital payment

acceptance

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Partnership with 1Link to enhance remittances and payment

security

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IMF deal and regional policies support Pakistan's digital

payment

By Ariba Shahid

KARACHI, Sept 11 (Reuters) - Visa plans to

increase the number of businesses accepting digital payments in

Pakistan tenfold over the next three years, the payments giant's

general manager for Pakistan, North Africa and Levant told

Reuters.

The comments from Leila Serhan came as Visa announced a

strategic partnership with 1Link, Pakistan's largest payment

service provider, aimed at streamlining remittances into the

South Asia country and also encouraging digital transactions.

Pakistan, with a population of 240 million, is home to one

of the world's largest unbanked populations. Only 60% of its 137

million adult population, or 83 million adults, have a bank

account, based on central bank estimates.

Visa is investing in building digital payment infrastructure

in the country, aiming to make digital payments less costly and

more manageable.

Currently, Pakistan has 120,541 point of sales (POS)

machines, according to central bank data.

Visa intends to significantly increase this number. "Some

businesses have more than one POS machine. We're aiming at

ten-folding businesses' acceptance (of digital transactions),"

said Serhan.

The strategy involves technology that transforms phones into

payment instruments and accepting various forms of payment,

including QR and card tap. Visa aims to expand beyond large

cities and mainstream businesses to include smaller merchants.

The 1Link deal aims to improve the process for sending and

receiving remittances, including bolstering payments security,

boosting such transactions via legal channels.

As one of the top remittance recipients globally, Pakistan

relies heavily on funds from overseas Pakistanis, which

constitute a vital source of foreign exchange and significantly

contribute to the country's GDP.

"We're really looking forward to finishing this technical

integration in the coming months, and I think it's going to be a

game changer for a lot of the consumers in Pakistan," said

Serhan.

The partnership with 1Link will also enable 1Link's PayPak

cards to be accepted on Visa's Cybersource Platform for online

transactions, despite PayPak being a competitor in digital

payments.

Pakistan signed a $7 billion bailout deal with the

International Monetary Fund in July, which includes reforms such

as raising revenue and documenting the economy.

"Digital payments are going to be at the heart of what the

government wants to do from a digitization perspective, and we

will continue to partner with them," Serhan said.