i2c Chosen To Fuel Pakistan’s First Digital-Native Financial App

Digital payment and banking technology provider i2c has been tapped to fuel Pakistan’s first “digital-native financial super app” TAG, which is set to roll out in the first quarter of 2021, according to a Tuesday (Jan. 5) announcement emailed to PYMNTS.

“i2c’s tech stack provides us a sound foundation for enabling the kind of innovative, safe and secure payments experiences we’re bringing to market,” TAG CEO Talal Ahmad Gondal said in the announcement.

TAG provides instant payments capability to Pakistan’s unbanked adult population of roughly 100 million. The app includes features like mobile top-up, bill payment, automated teller machine (ATM) access, and the capacity to send and receive funds immediately without charges to anyone with a TAG account and tools to keep track of spending. The firm’s roadmap includes expansion to the Middle East and North Africa.

“We’re thankful for TAG’s selection of our platform and for the opportunity to play a role in helping bring digital financial services to so many people,” Aurangzaib Khan, i2c’s general manager for the MEA region, said in the announcement.

The news comes as Pakistan experienced a sizable rise in remittances from nationals working in other countries in July, showing a rare case of the pandemic helping a country’s economy.

“More good news for Pak economy,” Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Kahn tweeted in August. “Remittances from overseas Pakistanis reached $2,768 mn in July 2020, highest-ever amount in one month in the history of Pakistan. This is 12.2 percent increase over June 2020 and 36.5 percent increase over July 2019.”

As the worldwide pandemic and ensuing economic disruption have blurred the boundaries between traditional means of payment, i2c CEO Amir Wain told PYMNTS in November the largest business opportunity ahead will be in credit, with mobile becoming the largest game-changer.

“The stars of financial services in 2021 will have something to do with credit,” Wain said, adding the days of the simple checking or demand draft accounts (DDA) are over. “You can’t be a star with the DDA in 2021.”