The State Bank of Pakistan granted permission for pilot operations as a payment service operator/provider to Karachi-based fintech Safepay on Tuesday.
The pilot permission, which is the second stage toward acquiring a complete payment service provider licence, was given because Safepay met the strict requirements of the SBP, according to a news statement published by the fintech.
The approval, it was said, will enable Safepay to move forward with merchant onboarding and expand its business.
The famed US-based accelerator Y-first Combinator’s Pakistani fintech alumnus, Safepay, recently closed a new round of funding following a round led by Stripe.
According to Safepay the company will be able to “double down on the groundwork made in building a world-class team, operations and partnerships such as this one with Cybersource” thanks to the most recent funding.
A one-window solution that enables customers to pay online through the merchant’s website using their bank account, mobile wallet, and now, their Visa or Mastercard supported card, is the startup’s main service to merchants. It has been operating in the market since 2019.
In support of that, Safepay also revealed its affiliation with Visa’s Cybersource.
“Pakistani businesses can accept payments from both domestic and foreign clients by accepting cards. A market-leading digital onboarding experience, simple technical integrations, targeted customer assistance, and a potent reporting dashboard that enables both small and large businesses to track their payments support this “Reads the press release.
Safepay co-founder Ziyad Parekh declared that the fintech was “excited” to see how its expanded service offerings may help its merchants expand their operations.
In the meantime, the partnership with Safepay “allows us to ensure that we provide merchants in Pakistan with access to high-quality security solutions that include fraud management, payment acceptance, and security” said Leila Serhan, Group Country Manager and Senior Vice President for North Africa, the Levant, and Pakistan at Visa.
According to Safepay Chief Business Officer Iman Urooj, the fintech might expand the number of its merchants with the pilot’s permission.