TLTP
ISLAMABAD
Digital payment app Foree, that is set to be rolled out in May, will help give a boost to the cashless economy, create tens of thousands of jobs and facilitate remittances from overseas workers, according to Murtaza Hashwani.
Hashwani, who is deputy-chairman as well as CEO of Hashoo Group and chairman of the board for Foree told a foreign news agency that many digital cash transfer systems that do not require a bank account are already functional in the country but Foree app is unique because it allows users to aggregate all their bank accounts and cards into a single app and carry out seamless domestic transactions at marginal cost.
He said that users do not have to move money between different accounts using online banking and the service is unlike wallets, which only allow limited transaction facilities. “Foree will be the first online payment system in Pakistan,” he said. “Remittances will be one of the biggest areas we’re focusing on.
For Pakistani diaspora living outside, remittances have always been a challenge,” he added, saying the app would help individuals and businesses regularize cash payments.
The app will also help boost e-commerce in the country and allow people to shop online from international brands and companies through real-time payments.
The project had been set up with a seed investment, Hashwani said, and future expansion would be undertaken by working with other global companies and venture capitalists willing to invest in Pakistan.
Foree’s management estimates the payment solution will help create at least 100,000 jobs in Pakistan alone in the next two years and create points of sales [POS] not only in cities, but also in far-flung areas of the country as people won’t rely only on cash to make purchases.
Talking about the process to implement the initiative, Hashwani said it took a long time to get a license from the State Bank of Pakistan and integrate the app with banks to ensure its smooth functioning, adding that the State Bank had been “extremely supportive.”
As a first step, the company is working with Meezan Bank, which has at least one million customers, to launch the app in Pakistan in May.
About privacy and data protection of Foree users, Hashwani said all of the company’s servers were in Pakistan as part of a requirement to get licensed with the central bank.
“Everything is housed here, so security is enabled in that way and not compromised at all,” he said. “We believe in simple, fast and secure digital payments for everyone, and we are going to ensure it too through stringent checks.”
The Pakistan government has recently launched a number of digital payment initiatives in a bid to boost financial inclusion and government revenue in a country where only a fraction of economic transactions occur on the books. The government says it also wants to incentivize private companies who want to help it shift away from a cash-based economy.
