Careem Pay has been given an In-Principle-Approval (IPA) for an Electronic Money Institution (EMI) license by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP). This will enable the corporation to extend its ride-hailing services outside the country’s borders.
Careem established Careem Pay, its fintech subsidiary, in Pakistan as an autonomous corporation with a $50 million investment plan to leapfrog Pakistan’s fintech sector. Subject to SBP final clearance, Careem Pay will be able to provide quick and accessible financial services to over 9 million consumers, 800,000 captains, and over 3,000 merchants both on and off the Careem App. Noman Khurshid will serve as the company’s General Manager.
SBP has granted eleven EMIs to far, according to SBP. Three of these companies have already begun operations, while three others have been given permission to conduct pilot operations.
Careem Pay will provide services such as bill payments, including utilities, government, and school fees, peer-to-peer (P2P) transfers, and wallet cash-outs after it receives operational readiness from SBP.
Careem Pay plans to provide cards, inbound foreign remittance services, and services that allow customers and merchants to make and receive online and offline payments in the following stages, subject to SBP clearance. This is in addition to Careem Pay’s current capabilities, which include payment across all Careem services, such as ride-hailing and food delivery, as well as P2P credit transfers and mobile top-ups inside the app.
“Careem Pay aspires to simplify and enhance lives by making daily payments simpler and more accessible for our Customers, Captains, and merchants,” stated Mudassir Sheikha, CEO, and Co-founder of Careem. We are grateful to the SBP for awarding us an IPA for the EMI license, which provides us with a tremendous chance to empower individuals via new payment experiences. We view this as a huge opportunity to move from cash payments to digital transactions in Pakistan, where 30 percent of the population is unbanked and 18 percent of women are unbanked.”
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