Pakistani Operator Launches Mobile Banking Service

Pakistan's Mobilink has launched a range of mobile banking services,  in association with Citibank under an arrangement endorsed by the State Bank of Pakistan. Mobilink is a subsidiary of Egypt's Orascom Telecom Holding (OTH).

Commenting on this landmark moment for millions of Pakistanis who currently lie outside the scope of the financial sector, Naguib Sawiris, Chairman and CEO, OTH said, "Offering access to financial services via a mobile connection is a project that has been very close to my heart for a long time. The case for mobile financial services is particularly strong in emerging markets where penetration of the financial sector is quite low. After putting in place a focused strategy last year under a centralized group-wide initiative, I am pleased to announce the initiation of the first such service in Pakistan by Mobilink. As a pioneer in cellular services in Pakistan, Mobilink continues to lead the local telecom industry by exploring new and innovative frontiers."

The service will allow users to maintain their accounts through their phones and make secure peer to peer money transfers to any Mobilink number simply via SMS. Mobilink envisions extending this partnership with Citibank further by using this platform to empower subscribers to avail and repay loans, purchase goods and services, pay bills, buy airtime and a host of other services using their cell phones.

Earlier this year, Mobilink launched its Mobile Money Order (MMO) Service in partnership with Pakistan Post. The first and only service of its kind in the country, MMO is available in 37 cities (73 outlets) across Pakistan with a roll-out plan to cover the entire country in the near future. Dubbed as Pakistan's gateway to a new era of communication, MMO allows the larger part of the country's population, especially in the rural areas, to have access to the benefits of m-commerce. Mobilink is also the first and only mobile operator to have launched a mobile payments solution in Pakistan under the brand name of "Mobilink Genie" enabling customers to access their bank accounts from their mobile phones and make mobile payments.

Posted to the site on 2nd July 2009