Islamabad: Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue, Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb, today met with a delegation from Ant International and Easypaisa Digital Bank, including Mr. Douglas Feagin, President Ant International; Mr. Irfan Wahab Khan, Chairman, Easypaisa Digital Bank; and Mr. Jahabzeb Khan, CEO, Easypaisa Digital Bank, at the Finance Division.
The meeting focused on accelerating Pakistan's transition towards a cashless, digitally enabled economy, emphasizing financial inclusion, digital payments, and leveraging technology to expand access to formal financial services for individuals and small businesses nationwide.
Welcoming the delegation, Senator Aurangzeb highlighted that the national drive towards digitization has gained strong momentum, with clear performance targets pursued through coordinated efforts across digital infrastructure, payment systems, and government-related payments. He emphasized the importance of high-level policy coordination for swift and effective execution, reducing reliance on cash.
Mr. Douglas Feagin appreciated the engagement and reaffirmed Ant International and Ant Group's commitment to supporting Pakistan's digital economy agenda by bringing global experience and technology capabilities to expand cashless payments and digital financial services. He noted that the licensing of Easypaisa as a digital bank presents an opportunity to accelerate capability building and deepen outreach, while acknowledging that cash remains prevalent.
Senator Aurangzeb highlighted the potential of digital banks and fintech platforms to enable inclusive credit and targeted lending, especially for underserved segments like small farmers, and stressed the importance of scalable digital platforms for expanding access to finance. He also emphasized diversifying the investor base for domestic public debt and facilitating retail participation through digital platforms.
Mr. Irfan Wahab Khan shared that Easypaisa is progressively expanding from payments to broader financial services, focusing on financial inclusion, customer education, and savings and wealth management offerings. Discussions also covered cross-border and wallet-based payment enhancements to reduce transaction friction, and opportunities related to regulated virtual assets and tokenization to support secure financial products.
Senator Aurangzeb briefed the delegation on macroeconomic stabilization, structural reforms, energy sector challenges, state-owned enterprise reforms, privatization initiatives, and efforts to broaden the tax base, stressing that stabilization should translate into investment-led growth.
Mr. Feagin noted that expanding digital payments can strengthen economic documentation and contribute to tax base growth. Both sides emphasized the importance of regulations that ensure system integrity while promoting inclusion and usability, including risk-based approaches for entry-level transactions.
The meeting concluded with mutual confidence in continued engagement on merchant digitization, customer education, access to regulated savings and investment products, and broader payments modernization. Senator Aurangzeb encouraged the delegation to submit proposals to advance shared priorities under the government's digitization agenda.