Karachi, January 14, 2024 — Raqami Islamic Digital Bank (RIDB) and Euronet Pakistan Pvt. Ltd. have joined forces in an exclusive partnership aimed at spearheading the digital payments landscape in Pakistan.
This collaboration comes on the heels of RIDB’s significant milestones, including obtaining a no objection certificate (NOC) from the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) in January 2023, and securing In-Principal Approval (IPA) in September 2023, according to a statement.
Raqami Islamic Digital Bank is now in the process of developing its operational readiness for a pilot launch, followed by the commercial rollout as Pakistan’s first Islamic digital retail bank. This exclusive agreement with Euronet Pakistan, a division of Euronet Worldwide and a leading player in secure electronic financial transactions, marks a crucial step towards achieving this ambitious goal.
Euronet Pakistan, a subsidiary of the NASDAQ-listed Euronet Worldwide (EEFT), brings a wealth of experience as the world’s largest global provider dedicated to banking and payments technologies. Under the partnership, Euronet Pakistan will provide a range of services to RIDB, including Payment Switch, Card Management Solution, Credit Cards, ATM Controller, POS/E-Commerce Acquiring, Fraud Management Solution, and Card Tokenization.
The strategic move of procuring these services aims to establish a robust, integrated, scalable, and cloud-ready middleware platform for Raqami Bank. Leveraging Euronet’s cutting-edge system, Raqami aspires to seamlessly integrate payment systems, core banking infrastructure, non-core applications, and digital channels. This strategic alignment seeks to enhance operational efficiency, reduce costs, improve service availability, and ensure a seamless digital banking experience for Raqami’s customers.
Kashif Gaya, CEO of Euronet Pakistan, expressed excitement about being selected as Raqami’s technology partner and playing a pivotal role in launching Pakistan’s first Islamic Digital Bank. He highlighted Euronet’s commitment to supporting Raqami through their locally hosted, next-generation digital platform, emphasizing scalability and agility to empower the bank to deliver innovative card products and payment services efficiently.
Umair Aijaz, CEO of RIDB, emphasized the significance of a well-designed payment hub in the era of widespread digitization. Aijaz underscored the commitment to innovation, inclusion, and economic empowerment, aligning with the State Bank of Pakistan’s systematic efforts to drive digital transformation in the country. He sees the Raqami-Euronet partnership as a key foundation for the country’s first Islamic digital bank.
Nadeem Hussain, Coach at RIDB, acknowledged the Government of Pakistan’s drive to boost digital financial services, as evidenced by the SBP’s Quarterly Payment Systems Review Report. The report showcased remarkable progress, with digital transactions comprising approximately 80% of total retail transactions processed by financial institutions. Hussain expressed confidence that the partnership with Euronet is mutually beneficial and will serve the evolving needs of an increasingly digital-savvy clientele.
Raqami Islamic Digital Bank is among the five entities vying for the digital retail bank license, to be awarded by the State Bank of Pakistan under the Licensing and Regulatory Framework for Digital Banks 2022. The licensing is contingent on achieving operational readiness and successfully concluding a pilot program, indicating a promising future for digital banking in Pakistan.
