KARACHI/Islamabad: Pakistan’s financial sector faces a common enemy: cash, not competition among digital payment providers, said CEO of Jazz and Chairperson of Mobilink Microfinance Bank Aamir Ibrahim at the GSMA Digital Nation Summit in Islamabad, said a statement issued on Friday.
“About 95 per cent of retailers in Pakistan still operate in cash. This is the biggest obstacle to a secure and inclusive digital economy,” Aamir said. He called for mandatory digital payment options at all retail outlets and policies that make the shift from cash to digital both convenient and inevitable, while ensuring no one is excluded.
The panel discussion, moderated by Sabahat Bokhari, founder of The Inclusion Lab, also featured easypaisa CEO Jahanzeb Khan. “Inclusion is everything. The digital economy must work for every Pakistani,” Aamir stressed. Acknowledging risks in digital adoption, he urged public awareness to fight fraud, noting that even with JazzCash processing 12 million transactions daily, “each fraudulent case is one too many”.
“Trust is earned, not assumed,” he said, adding that he personally reviews customer feedback to improve both the product and the company’s promise to users. In an earlier summit session, Aamir linked a future-ready digital Pakistan to the country’s ambitions in artificial intelligence (AI). He revealed that Jazz, in partnership with NUST and the National Information Technology Board, is building Pakistan’s first large language model (LLM).
“So far, we have translated 1.8 billion words, reviewed more than 600,000 documents, and created a foundational data lake to power the model,” he said, adding that the next phase will begin in September. He warned that those unfamiliar with AI tools risk being left behind.
Recalling the digital journey from telecom-led mobile banking to today’s advanced fintech ambitions, Aamir said the focus is now on tokenised real estate, secure cryptocurrency exchanges and open, interoperable financial networks.
“The goal is not just to move money; it is to move people forward. From cash to confidence, from isolated systems to connected opportunities, we are working towards a future where trust is built into the design of our digital economy,” he concluded.
Khan, president and CEO of easypaisa Digital Bank, underscored the importance of customer trust, strong security, and innovation-led product design. “Easypaisa is proud to lead Pakistan’s journey towards a cashless, digitally inclusive economy. We believe in striking the right balance between customer convenience and security. We will continue to work with stakeholders and policymakers to enable a thriving digital economy,” he said, adding that platforms such as easypaisa must make trust and safety visible to users, while reinforcing them through intelligent backend safeguards.
Endorsing the government’s and the State Bank of Pakistan’s Cashless Economy initiative, Khan called for a more interoperable, secure, and inclusive financial ecosystem that empowers and engages every Pakistani to participate in the formal digital economy.
Highlighting easypaisa’s adoption of a ‘Privacy by Design’ framework -- integrating data protection principles at every stage of product development -- he emphasised the importance of delivering secure, scalable solutions, simplifying onboarding and expanding access for unbanked communities, thereby advancing financial inclusion.
The GSMA Digital Nation Summit brought together senior representatives from the government of Pakistan, mobile operators, digital innovators, climate and finance experts, and international partners to promote collaboration for a secure, inclusive and thriving digital Pakistan.
