Transfast opens Pakistan up for wireless bank transfers

Pakistani bank customers now have access to instant wireless money transfers thanks to a recent agreement between cross-border payment specialist Transfast and nine banks.

The deal will make it easier for bank customers in Pakistan to move money and payments between accounts from a mobile device or desktop. That’s good news for businesses and investors with links to the nation’s increasingly liberalized economy.

“Transfast’s extensive bank partnerships enable customers to send instant transfers to 99 percent of banked customers in Pakistan,” Transfast’s Director of Network Development Bob Blower said.

The new partnership also will have a big impact in the area of remittances – money sent home by Pakistani workers abroad. Pakistan ranked seventh in the world in remittances last year, with approximately $17 billion sent into the country. That’s a sizable chunk of the Pakistani economy, and easier online transfers could see that number increase.

Only 13 percent of Pakistan’s citizens currently have a bank account, but those that do will now have greater access to international banks, businesses and consumers as part of Transfast’s network, which spans more than 100 countries on four continents.

The new agreement was marked by a luncheon today with Pakistani Ambassador H.E. Asif Durrani, and executives from Transfast and its new Pakistani banking partners. The banks include Allied Bank Limited, Askari Bank, Bank of Punjab, Habib Bank Ltd., Meezan Bank, Muslim Commercial Bank, National Bank of Pakistan, Tameer Bank and United Bank Limited.