The South Asia Regional Financial Inclusion Initiative (SARFII) marked an important milestone with the introduction of its first Learnovative Lounge, a new quarterly knowledge-sharing platform designed to strengthen regional collaboration and accelerate scalable financial inclusion solutions across South Asia. The event, jointly hosted by the Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI) and the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), served as a forum for policymakers, financial institutions, and technology partners to exchange insights on digital financial transformation.
A major highlight of the inaugural session was the in-depth discussion on Pakistan’s Asaan Mobile Account Scheme (AMA), a pioneering initiative aimed at simplifying access to formal financial services through a USSD-based mobile account opening and transaction system. AMA has emerged as one of the region’s most impactful digital inclusion models, significantly benefiting unbanked and underserved populations by enabling banking access without smartphones, internet connectivity, or complex onboarding processes.
Representing Virtual Remittance Gateway (VRG), the program’s principal technical partner, the speaker provided a comprehensive overview of the initiative’s architecture, implementation journey, and ongoing evolution. The discussion outlined how strategic coordination between multiple technical stakeholders enabled the creation of a unified and interoperable ecosystem that connects telecom operators, banks, regulators, and service providers on a single platform. This interoperability has been central to ensuring seamless, real-time, and secure account services across Pakistan.
The session also shed light on the challenges encountered during the nationwide rollout of AMA. These included complex telco integrations, varying levels of digital readiness across regions, and the need to build trust and awareness among low-income and remote communities. Addressing these barriers required a blend of technology-driven solutions and user-centric design, enabling the platform to scale effectively while maintaining reliability and security. The implementation of robust real-time monitoring tools, enhanced processing capacity, and simplified customer journeys played a key role in overcoming early adoption hurdles.
In addition to outlining technical advancements, VRG shared practical business use cases that have demonstrated measurable socioeconomic impact. The AMA framework has enabled millions to perform essential financial transactions, access formal banking channels, and engage in digital economic activities previously out of reach. These outcomes have been especially meaningful for women, daily-wage earners, and residents of remote regions where traditional banking infrastructure is limited.
The event brought together representatives from central banks across Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, creating an environment where regional regulators could explore replicable models and exchange insights on policy, technology, and operational best practices. The combination of regulatory vision from SBP, implementation experience from HBL, and technological expertise from VRG offered SARFII members a holistic view of what it takes to build and scale inclusive digital finance ecosystems.
The launch of the SARFII Learnovative Lounge marks a significant step forward in strengthening cross-country learning and accelerating innovation-driven financial inclusion across South Asia. Pakistan’s leadership through the AMA initiative stands as an important example of how affordable, digital-first solutions can expand access, empower underserved communities, and contribute meaningfully to global financial inclusion efforts.
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