State Bank of Pakistan finally grants SadaPay approval to begin pilot operations in 2021

The State Bank of Pakistan has granted permission to fintech startup SadaPay to begin pilot operations next year. The startup is planning to shake up Pakistan’s financial services industry by eliminating foregoing physical bank branches and thus offering free banking services in collaboration with MasterCard.

The company has garnered huge attention even before launching with a waiting list of 150,000 people eager to use the service. Founder and CEO of SadaPay Brandon Timinsky previously said that “the pre-launch demand for SadaPay has exceeded all of our expectations and our team is totally blown away to see nearly 150,000 people on our waiting list. We can’t wait to have our users experience what we’ve built over the past year!”

SadaPay will now offer its services under the SBP’s supervision for a period of 60 days starting in January 2021. Initially, the company will be allowed to take on a maximum of 1,000 customers from its waiting list, and the operation will be closely monitored by the SBP to gauge the performance of the company’s new model of banking. After the probation period, the company will be granted a full commercial license if it passes the SBP’s requirements.

Speaking about the SBP’s approval, Chairman of SadaPay Dr. Waqar Masood Khan said, “it is heartening to see the State Bank of Pakistan so eager to unlock the true potential of digital payments in the country. SadaPay has always been a mission-driven company with a focus on improving lives and I couldn’t be more excited to witness the impact this proposition can have on our economy.”