Embracing digital wallets for freelancers

Things got pretty exciting for Pakistan’s freelance community as the State Bank introduced a new framework allowing them to open the Exporters’ Special Foreign Currency Account to retain their dollars. In a similar vein, Sadapay made a big splash when they announced integrating with Apple Pay and GPay, enabling freelancers to get paid directly into their wallets. The product seems to be pretty seamless, according to those who’ve used it, and further strengthens the argument that Pakistan’s increasingly tech-savvy population is moving towards digital wallets for financial services. However, looking at the industry overall, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows. There’s been a huge exodus of Electronic Money Institutions (EMIs) lately, as at least half of the 12 entities that had some form of approval in the past are now gone. First, TAG’s license was revoked for fraud while YAP quietly exited the country, reportedly having burned through the money. More recently, Finja sold its EMI business to OPay in an attempt to focus on lending. Meanwhile, Careem and Checkout withdrew their applications, with Zong’s PayMax now joining that list.