By Hifsa Raja ISLAMABAD, April 22 (INP-WealthPK): Bank Alfalah, one of major private banks in Pakistan, has collaborated with renowned digital payment service provider Paymob to determine financial inclusion by providing integration services across the country, reports WealthPK. Speaking at the signing ceremony in Karachi, President and CEO of Bank Alfalah Atif Bajwa said, “Bank Alfalah is pleased to be a part of one of Pakistan’s major fintech collaborations with Paymob. Our partnership will serve thousands of merchants across Pakistan, and our industry-first ‘Tap-on-Phone’ technology will enable us to reach even the most remote retailers.” Paymob’s COO Alain El-Hajj, said, “For Paymob, this is a watershed moment. We are thrilled to work with Bank Alfalah, under its progressive leadership, to provide the SMEs in Pakistan with dependable and seamless digital payment services. We hope to contribute to the shared objective of economic growth and SMEs’ digitalisation through this relationship.” Branch Manager of Bank Alfalah Saba Javed told WealthPK that they had expand their base in e-commerce, gateway integration, IT and online payments. In fact, Bank Alfalah has a separate department just to deal with financial inclusion and financial innovation. The department focuses on financial services to distributors and retailers. To provide ease in the financial services, we have provided digital portals and online application, she added. According to a report, over 100,000 merchants will be empowered through this agreement with Paymob. Saba said ‘‘Since our target market is retailers, SME’s and merchants, such collaborations with Paymob will provide ease to merchant customers. Such MOUs are very important to move our country towards financial inclusion.’’ Dr. Ahmed Faraz from the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE) told WealthPK that nowadays fintech is very important, as it comprises digital innovation and technology-based business. ‘’Paymob is a technology-based company dealing in financial and digital innovation. It can change the traditional banking. It provides new gateways to entrepreneurship and democratise access to digital services. Paymob and Bank Alfalah are providing payment gateway integration to their customers,’’ he added. Faraz said the more the fintech development, the more the bank competitiveness. This collaboration can increase the competitiveness of Bank Alfalah because Paymob is a fintech company that will increase the efficiency of financial services, he added. He said business entities always look for minimizing the customer acquisition and operating costs. Through collaboration with fintech companies, banks not only divide the cost, but also improve the efficiency of financial services. If banks are equipped with digital advanced fintech systems, it will improve their credit process. The more the financial inclusion, the fewer financial problems because of unavailability of financial services, he added. Talking to WealthPk, Director Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Mujahid Akbar Khan told WealthPK, ‘‘The government and other regulatory authorities should make laws and framework to support the accessibility of financial systems and services in order to provide ease. The FIA is concerned with enforcement of laws and takes actions against the frauds reported online.’’