KARACHI, Oct 16: Deputy Governor, State Bank of Pakistan, Kazi Abdul Muktadir, said on Tuesday that mobile phone and smart card banking accounts have surged to nearly 1.45 million which indicates that Pakistan’s financial sector is now going through a dynamic transition led by the latest technology solutions.

Speaking at the launching ceremony of a new product, “Easy Paisa Khushaal” of Tameer Microfinance Bank (TMFB) and Telenor at a local hotel in Karachi he said that existing active players – the Tameer Microfinance Bank (Easypaisa) and UBL (Omni) – have so far registered more than 1,447,381 mobile wallet accounts (mWallet accounts) of un-banked and under-banked population of the country.

He said nearly 30 million BB accounts worth Rs115 billion were processed during a single quarter (April-June, 2012) by only two players (TMFB and UBL-Omni).

Mr Muktadir said that such types of innovations in product designing would not only attract small savings to generate internal funding for microfinance banks (MFBs), but also provide savers a feeling of safety and security of insurance embodied with the product. He said that the government and the SBP have been supporting the microfinance sector.

This growth is facilitated by several factors, including an enabling policy framework, institutional reforms, technology initiatives, regulatory flexibility, tax incentives and technical support through different programmes and projects, said the SBP deputy governor.