ISLAMABAD – Two technology groups in Pakistan have collaborated to developa local online payment gateway system to take a share in the growinge-commerce market of Pakistan.

Avanza Group and Premier System announced to invest over $5 million in thegateway which is aimed to connect individuals with merchants and banks.According to sources, the two companies will set up the joint venture asAvanza Premier Payment Services (APPS), Tech Juice has reported.

Mahmood Kapurwala, CEO of Avanza Group said, “the size of Pakistan’se-commerce market is estimated to be $1 billion, which should be $30-$40billion in a country with a population of 207 million.’ He also partneredwith NCR, Avaya, Microsoft, and IBM. He added, “We are looking at this gapas an opportunity.”

APPS claims to be the first Financial Technology (fintech) in the countryto obtain payment system provider (PSP) and payment system operator (PSO)licenses from the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP). According to McKinsey andCompany, a worldwide management consulting firm, Fintech will add about 4million jobs, 93 million bank accounts and $36 billion annually to thegross national product (GNP), and $7 billion to the government’s netrevenue by 2025.

The newly-founded company plans to incentivize brick and mortar businesseswith free online services, like building websites and digital marketing. Itwill only take a certain share in the profit that comes through onlinebusinesses. Adnan Ali, CEO, APPS said: “It will move Pakistan towardsdigitizing major institutions, such as merchants, schools, billingindustries, mutual funds and other corporate entities by providing adigital gateway.”