Daily Times

UBL and OP Digital Services Pvt. Ltd (OPay) have agreed to join hands for a strategic collaboration in the areas of merchant acceptance (point-of-sale acquiring) and financial inclusion (branchless banking). OPay is a fintech company based out of Beijing, China,having presence across Africa and Asia, with a valuation close to $2 billion.

This partnership furthers UBL’s resolve in pushing SBP’s vision of the cash-to-digital journey by creating a sustainable digital ecosystem. The UBL-OPay collaboration will focus on expanding the merchant acceptance foot-print across Pakistan by enabling SMEs and retail merchants to accept card payments through smart-terminals and other innovative digital solutions.

UBL is amongst the leading players in branchless banking and this collaboration with OPay will usher a new wave of products and services to be offered through the agent network with the objective of creating a positive impact on financial inclusion.

Speaking at the occasion, Sharjeel Shahid, Group Executive Digital Banking UBL, said, “This collaboration is a prime example of how cross-border synergies can be leveraged to create a meaningful impact. UBL takes pride in its digital services menu and this will further augment our contribution in this space.”

Zeb Khan, Vice President OPay Pakistan, said, “Partnering with UBL forms the basis of our key strategy in this territory. Our plan includes enabling online and offline payments in the retail space and we have no doubt that this collaboration will put Opay amongst the front runners and revolutionise POS acquiring and branchless banking in the Pakistani market.”