ISLAMABAD: According to Pakistani business mogul and chairman of the board of Foree, a digital payment app called Foree, which is set to launch in Pakistan in May this year, it will help boost the global cashless economy, create tens of thousands of jobs in Pakistan, and make it easier for overseas workers, particularly in the Middle East, to remit payments back home.
In a country where just a fraction of economic transactions are recorded, the Pakistani government has recently launched a number of digital payment schemes in an effort to increase financial inclusion and government revenue. The government also says it wants to reward private enterprises that help it move away from a cash-based economy.
Several private-sector digital cash transfer systems that do not require a bank account, such as Jazzcash from telecommunications company Jazz and Easypaisa from Telenor Pakistan, are already available in Pakistan, but the Foree app is unique in that it allows users to combine all of their bank accounts and cards into a single app and conduct seamless domestic transactions. Online banking eliminates the need for users to transfer money between separate accounts, and it differs from wallets, which only allow for limited transactions.
In an exclusive interview with Arab News on Wednesday, Murtaza Hashwani, vice chairman and CEO of Hashoo Group and now chairman of the board of Foree, said, “Foree would be the first online payment system in Pakistan.”
“We have a worldwide goal in mind. “This will be rolled out regionally in the Middle East, and then we want to take it global,” he added, adding that nine million Pakistanis living abroad could help make Foree (the Urdu word for ‘immediately’) a widely downloaded software.
Hashwani said that the State Bank of Pakistan-regulated digital payment solution will allow foreign Pakistanis to send money home directly through the app, without the use of an intermediary or bank, and at a low cost.
“One of the main areas we’ll be concentrating on is remittances. Remittances have long been a concern for Pakistani diaspora living abroad,” he continued, adding that the software will help people and businesses regulate cash payments.
The software will also assist grow e-commerce in the country by allowing individuals to make real-time payments while shopping online from international brands and companies.
According to Hashwani, the project was started with a seed investment, and future expansion would be done in collaboration with other global corporations and venture capitalists eager to invest in Pakistan. Hashoo Group, Hashwani’s family conglomerate, is already a big participant in the hospitality and oil and gas industries.
The payment solution, according to Foree’s management, will help create at least 100,000 employment in Pakistan alone over the next two years, as well as build points of sale [POS] not just in cities, but also in rural regions, since people will no longer rely solely on cash to make purchases.
“Foree will develop POS… Even in rural villages, more and more individuals would be able to deal without using cash,” Hashwani predicted. “This will eliminate COD [cash on delivery] and begin to digitise the economy much more… Because more people will be able to take money without really interacting in cash, this will begin to create more jobs.”
Hashwani noted that getting a licence from the State Bank of Pakistan and integrating the app with banks to assure its smooth operation took a long time, but that the State Bank had been “very supportive.”
In order to launch the app in Pakistan in May, the company is collaborating with Meezan Bank, which has at least one million customers.
Hashwani stated that all of Foree’s servers were located in Pakistan as part of the company’s requirement to obtain a licence from the central bank.
“Everything is hosted here,” he explained, “so security is enabled and not compromised at all.” “We believe in easy, quick, and secure digital payments for everyone, and we’ll make sure that happens through rigorous checks.”
