ISLAMABAD – Telenor Microfinance Bank, in partnership with Valyou ofMalaysia, has introduced Pakistan’s first blockchain-based cross-borderremittance service, powered by industry-leading blockchain technologydeveloped by Alipay, the online payment platform operated by Ant FinancialServices Group (“Ant Financial”).The blockchain remittance service is provided by Telenor’s Easypaisa andValyou, a financial technology company that provides remittances tounderbanked communities.The plan was unveiled at an event here on Tuesday which was attended byamong others State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Governor Tariq Bajwa.The blockchain technology will significantly boost the speed and efficiencyof remittances from Malaysia to Pakistan. It will also ensure the moneytransfers are highly secure and transparent, as all information stored,shared, or uploaded through the blockchain remittance platform will beencrypted with advanced protocols in order to protect users’ privacy.Governor SBP Tariq Bajwa on the occasion said that at around US $20billion per year, international remittances were important from theperspective of overall macroeconomic stability and their positive spilloverin improving lives of millions of families.Home remittances, he said contributed to over 6 percent in GDP, equivalentto over 50 percent of our trade deficit, 85 percent of exports and overone-third of imports during FY 2017-18.He also said that the Government of Pakistan and SBP have taken a number ofinitiatives to promote the transfer of home remittances using formalfinancial channels and the new block-chain technology based remittanceservice would complement these efforts as transfer of cross-borderremittances in near real time would bring convenience and facilitation forboth senders and their beneficiaries.
“This puts Pakistan on the map of very few countries in the world that havelaunched International Remittance using block-chain technology”, he added.
Tariq Bajwa also stated that he expects that the financial sector wouldtake advantage of current favourable market environment by investing ininnovative technologies and product offerings to expand services andbroaden access to financial services in the country.The blockchain-powered remittance service will make round-the-clock,real-time money transfers between the two countries possible at acompetitive exchange rate,with Alipay’s transaction fees waived during theone-year trial period.“The new remittance service is one of the examples of how emergingtechnologies can help countries meet their digital and financial inclusiongoals. We’re thrilled to be part of Pakistan’s financial inclusion effortsand we’re dedicated to exploring breakthroughs and applying them to benefitmore people in more places,” said Eric Jing, Chairman and CEO of AntFinancial.
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“I would like to take this opportunity to express our gratitude to StateBank of Pakistan for all the great support to make this project possible. Icongratulate both Easypaisa and Valyou on this major development that willfacilitate the people in both countries, putting Pakistan on the map offintech innovation and promoting financial inclusion.”By eliminating intermediary costs, the new remittance service reducestransactional cost for end-users, while the blockchain technology enablesboth senders and receivers to track their money every step of the way,significantly boosting the service’s efficiency and safety.The transparency and swiftness this innovative and first-of-its-kindservice brings to Pakistani users of international remittance will redefineinternational money transfer in the country,” said Roar Bjærum, Senior VicePresident, Head of Financial Services, Telenor Group & Chairman Valyou.“Currently, Pakistan receives about US $1 billion in home remittances fromMalaysia and this Easypaisa-Valyou collaboration is going to change it forthe better. The service is the result of the close partnership betweenTelenor Group and Ant Financial Services and epitomizes our shared visionto empower societies by bringing inclusive financial services to theworld.”The service aims to promote and encourage the use of formal channels forremittances, with all existing incentives offered by State Bank of Pakistanfor promotion of international remittance through mobile wallet being.
