“I’ve been bowled over by the response from users to the launch of Google Wallet in Pakistan,” said Chen Way Siew, Partnership Lead for Financial Institutions, Networks & Transit at Google. It was one of the top 10 downloaded apps on the Play Store in the first two weeks of its launch, he added in an email response.

Since its launch in March, Google Wallet has been downloaded 552,733 times in Pakistan, according to Appfigures, making it the ninth largest market by downloads. For context, Pakistan’s downloads during that period slightly surpassed those of Spain and were roughly on par with Italy.

“The speed and enthusiasm for adopting digital services in Pakistan is incredible to see,” Mr Siew wrote further. Citing Malaysia’s TNG eWallet and Shopee Pay as an example, Mr Siew explained Google is exploring ways to work with local ecosystem partners to extend the ability to make payments using popular eWallets and bank accounts that Pakistanis use in the future.

According to media reports, Google Wallet can now support a range of banks and cards, including both Visa and Mastercard, along with JazzCash. Google Wallet can also support certain loyalty cards and boarding passes.

The rapid uptake raises the question: why choose to make a payment with Google Wallet over, say, a traditional credit card or an existing mobile wallet app like Easypaisa or JazzCash? “It’s about customer experience and the security provided by tokens,” says Visa Country Manager Umar S Khan.

Google Wallet’s roughly half a million downloads in three months of its introduction indicate that optimism in a digitally charged future is not misplaced

Walking through the example of paying for the popular screening platform Netflix, he explains that using a credit card requires several steps involving going to a separate landing page, entering card details such as card expiration date, CVV and so on and so forth. With Google Wallet, the process is simplified and faster through the use of tokens.

Tokenisation is a form of technology that uses a random set of numbers that replace real credit or debit card numbers. A token is useless to hackers if intercepted because it can only be used by the merchant it was meant for (in this case Netflix) and usually expires after a single use or a short time, allowing the real card number to stay hidden and reducing the risk of fraud. Emphasising the security of payments, Mr Khan said Visa blocks about 500 attempts every 0.3 seconds by con artists.

The country’s large Gen Z population and its appetite for digital payments have made it an attractive market, despite the lack of financial inclusion and digitisation, putting it on the radar for financial tech companies.

According to Mr Khan, Pakistan is part of Visa’s Central Europe, Middle East, and Africa region, which includes about 90 countries. Yet, Pakistan stands out as one of its top priority markets. He estimates there are roughly 75 to 80 million smartphones in the country, suggesting vast potential for further growth in digital payments and services.

Other than being a lucrative market for financial giants, digitisation strongly contributes to economic growth. A five per cent annual increase in digital payments over the next five years could reduce the informal economy by up to 13pc, said Mr Khan, citing Visa’s research. Visa aims to help increase payment acceptance in the country by 10x over the next three to four years.

While Pakistan’s potential has always been massive, be it in mining or tourism, the proof of the pudding often seems to be lacking. While the country’s drive to digitisation continues, a closer look at the State Bank of Pakistan’s Payment Systems Quarterly Review shows that cash is still king. For instance, in the third quarter of FY25, Rs 4.8 trillion flowed through ATMs compared to the Rs550 billion of point-of-sale terminals.

However, Google Wallet’s roughly half a million downloads in three months of its introduction indicate that optimism in a digitally charged future is not misplaced.

Published in Dawn, The Business and Finance Weekly, June 30th, 2025