Speaking at a panel discussion titled “How Digital Banks Can Thrive in the New Era?” at Money20/20 Asia in Bangkok, alongside digital banking executives and industry leaders, Farhan Hassan, Chief Digital Officer at easypaisa digital bank, said Pakistan’s digital banking transformation has been driven by a series of regulatory, technological, and market-led interventions rather than a single inflection point. He noted that Pakistan’s financial inclusion rate increased from 47% in 2018 to 67% in 2025, supported by digital innovation and policy reforms that expanded access to financial services. Farhan highlighted the role of platforms like easypaisa digital bank in advancing financial inclusion, adding that 92% of retail payments in Q2 FY2025–26, amounting to 3.1 billion transactions, were conducted through digital channels, including mobile banking apps, internet banking, ATMs, POS machines, and e-commerce gateways. Sharing insights on easypaisa digital bank’s journey as Pakistan’s first digital retail bank to commence commercial operations earlier this year, Farhan said that while COVID-19 was a major turning point in accelerating digital financial services adoption, the recent initiatives led by the Prime Minister and the State Bank of Pakistan have also significantly accelerated Pakistan’s shift toward a cashless economy, both operationally and from a policy standpoint. The discussion explored how digital banks can build and sustain customer trust. Farhan noted that excessive friction can drive users away, while weak safeguards can compromise security. Sustainable trust, he said, comes from seamless user experiences supported by strong, often invisible, security layers. In the absence of physical infrastructure, reliability becomes the digital equivalent of a bank branch, where customers expect payments, transfers, and support to be consistently available. Farhan added that digital banks are no longer only competing with traditional financial institutions, but also with Big Tech and embedded finance players. Since beginning its digital bank journey, easypaisa digital bank has moved from a walled garden model to an open platform approach, enabling partnerships with e-commerce players, telecom operators, and other stakeholders to create collaboration opportunities. Discussing the impact of AI, he said AI-led credit scoring and decisioning are already helping institutions scale lending responsibly while strengthening fraud detection and risk monitoring. While fully AI-driven financial advisory continues to evolve, human oversight remains important today to ensure accuracy, trust, and contextual decision-making. He added that challenges such as socio-economic disparities, limited digital literacy, and language fragmentation currently slow wider AI adoption in Pakistan, but with continued investment in digital infrastructure, education, and localized innovation, these barriers are expected to diminish significantly in a short time given how quickly the landscape is evolving. Money20/20 Asia remains a leading platform for innovation and collaboration in global fintech, bringing together banks, fintechs, Big Tech companies, regulators, startups, and investors to shape the future of financial services. With over 59 million registered users and as the country’s first digital bank to commence commercial operations, easypaisa digital bank remains aligned with the State Bank of Pakistan’s vision for inclusive economic growth and is committed to expanding financial products and services for existing, unbanked, and underbanked users.
