As mobile payments solutions expand, consumer awareness remains an issue

According to a survey, mobile money agents earn around Rs 10,886 per month on average through mobile money services
Published September 22, 2017
The Agent Network Accelerator survey was spearheaded by Karandaaz and managed and conducted by the Helix Institute of Digital Finance.
The Agent Network Accelerator survey was spearheaded by Karandaaz and managed and conducted by the Helix Institute of Digital Finance.

Karandaaz Pakistan has launched the findings of a survey conducted on the mobile money agent landscape in Pakistan. The results are based on over 2,000 mobile money agent interviews conducted across Pakistan.

According to this survey, mobile money agents make an average revenue of Rs 10,886 per month through mobile money services, and non-dedicated agents conduct an average of 23 transactions every day.

However, on a wider scale, general awareness and customer trust on these services still remains low.

Key takeaways from the survey include:

  • Telenor Easypaisa and Mobilink JazzCash continue to dominate across all regions, accounting for over half the market presence. UBL Omni and Ufone Upaisa follow with 14% share of market presence each.

  • Pakistan lags behind other markets in daily transaction volumes; however, agents earn reasonable profits.

  • A quarter (24%) of agents do not educate their customers on the products or technology.

  • The majority of shops (61%) offering mobile money are 'non-dedicated' - they provide the service on the side as they sell electric and electronic or mobile accessories.

  • Large-scale e-wallet adoption could unleash a new wave of product and service innovation in the area.

The survey report includes numbers on agent network structure, agent viability, quality of provider support, compliance and risk as well as other important strategic considerations. It also provides recommendations for developing sustainable networks of mobile money agents.

Opportunities for Pakistan in digital financial services

Pakistan is among the eleven African and Asian countries who participated in this research project, selected for their contribution to the development of digital financial services globally.

The study shows that Pakistan remains the world leader in shared networks, with the highest rates of non-exclusivity and non-dedication in 2017.

Non-exclusivity, here, refers to an agent who serves more than one mobile money service provider, while non-dedication corresponds to an agent who conducts other business from the shop, in addition to mobile money services.

In Pakistan, large providers have partnered with mobile network operators, increasingly dominating the digital financial services landscape, accounting for over half of the market presence. The market is still largely focused on over the counter (OTC), people-to-people transfers.

As per the survey findings, dedicated agents conduct an average of 28 mobile money transactions per day, while non-dedicated agents conduct 22 transactions.

Pakistan has also established a large agent network via franchises. Almost 90% of agents act as retailers under them.

The latest figures from the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) indicate that providers have registered over 360,000 agent tills, although a significant number (approximately 30%) are inactive. New tills continue to be issued, albeit at a slower rate.

Loopholes and barriers

Only one-third of agents offer wallet registration currently, and cite low customer awareness as hindrance to registering customers.

Many agents are yet to secure BVS (Biometric Verification System) machines, as providers fail to raise the required investment.

As per the survey, the most common types of frauds reported by customers were impersonation (42%), fake SMS (21%) and unauthorised transaction reversal (15%). However, despite gaps in compliance, Pakistan has one of the lowest rates of agent-reported robbery and fraud among the countries where similar research has been carried out.

Profits and revenue for mobile money agents in Pakistan

Survey findings reveal that agents’ profits from mobile money are low in Pakistan, compared to other countries where this research was conducted.

Nonetheless, the majority (52%) of respondents said that they are at least somewhat satisfied with their profits.

Does Pakistan have room for female mobile money agents?

An interesting point that was noted in the survey was the gender break-down. Only 2 of the respondents out of the 2200 were women.

In rural areas, 20% of agents say they don’t have any women customers.

CEO Karandaaz Pakistan, Mr Ali Sarfraz Hussain, highlighted the significance of this survey and said, “We are confident that this survey will go a long way in creating sustainable agent networks that will catalyse greater financial inclusion in the country. We hope that this research will exponentially lead to a solid foundation for agent networks across the country connecting more households with the formal financial system.”


Karandaaz Pakistan promotes access to finance for small businesses through commercially directed investments and financial inclusion for individuals. The Helix Institute of Digital Finance was launched in 2013 as a collaboration between MicroSave, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), and the UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF).


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