Daily Times

Islamabad-based fintech SadaPay has raised $7.2 million in a seed round led by New York-based Recharge Capital.

The financing is the largest-ever seed closed by a Pakistani startup. Starting with a digital wallet and a debit card, SadaPay aims to build a “neobank” for Pakistan. Currently available in private beta, its mobile wallet is one of the most anticipated fintech products in the country, with over 200,000 people on the waitlist.

It launched the private beta a few months ago after receiving in-principle approval from the country’s central bank. In this pilot phase, SadaPay is allowed to operate with a maximum of 1,000 customers.

The startup will start its public rollout after receiving a full Electronic Money Institution licence from the State Bank of Pakistan. SadaPay did not share a timeline, but its founder Brandon Timinsky has said that they would receive the licence after successfully completing the audit and inspection from the regulator.

Brandon had started SadaPay in 2019 after selling his previous startup in the United States. He was visiting Pakistan on the invitation of a friend and was amazed by the opportunity that the country of over 220 million offered. “My first visit to Pakistan really opened my eyes to the amount of opportunity that has been hidden from the rest of the world due to the country’s difficult history from over a decade ago,” he stated.

As the statement by the company points out, Pakistan has the third largest unbanked population after China and India. Brandon believes that the country is at an inflection point for digitisation.

“Pakistan has a refreshingly progressive regulator, a burgeoning unbanked middle class, widespread smartphone adoption, and over 70 percent of the population is under the age of 35. We believe that a combination of factors makes Pakistan one of the best places for emerging fintech in the world, and we are excited to be a leader in that ecosystem.”

SadaPay’s mobile app enables users to sign up for a mobile wallet account with a few taps in less than two minutes and start using it right away to make free transfers to any bank account in Pakistan. The signup process is seamless mainly because the company is connected to Pakistan’s National Database & Registration Authority (NADRA) – which means it can instantly verify any Pakistani’s identity from anywhere in the world, including the 15 million Pakistani expatriates living abroad.

The account comes with a virtual debit card powered by Mastercard that can be used for online transactions all around the world. SadaPay also offers a physical numberless debit card.

The physical card allows users to make up to three free cash withdrawals monthly from any ATM. The company also supports remittances from services like Transferwise, Remitly, and WorldRemit. The company will generate revenues from premium product offerings such as merchant services and remittances, noted the statement.