Revolution in Digital Affairs: Fintech as a Government Strategy for Social Development on August 23, 2020Corruption in Pakistan: Using Fintech for Accountability The general approach, in this case, is that all manner of digital solutions can be introduced and implemented to replace current activity being done under the table or through undocumented methods. Having customers not use a bank account due to financial viability concerns is no excuse for leaving […]
Revolution in digital affairs: Using technology where bureaucracy fails on August 13, 2020As a reflective exercise, this article allows for a birds’ eye view on the journey being taken by all payment service providers, and particularly VRG Pakistan as they strive to make use of the State Bank’s PSO/PSP license and literally, ‘take banking to the streets’ and under-developed areas via the e-wallet solution [*2262#] and AMA […]
National Welfare Programmes and COVID-19: On the racetrack wearing blinders on June 15, 2020The usage of physical cash centres for the government’s Ehsaas disbursements has been flagged by observers as an example of failure to properly make use of information and physical resources. What was needed was a clear elucidation of the usage of digital payment channels from the State Bank due to the close linkage of poverty […]
National welfare programmes and COVID-19 ‘a rock, a hard place, and a bureaucrat’ on June 13, 2020A lot of the concerns mentioned in the previous article generally comes down to standards of project management, part of which includes identifying multiple possible means to an end, and equally considering for worst case scenarios. Issues of mismanagement, low adoption of technology, and incidents of corruption were unexpected, as these were all previously handled […]
“Starbucks at a storm shelter” on May 14, 2020The World Bank describes how cash transfers are considered to be “central in mitigating the impact of the upcoming recession,” and that doing this will ensure that consumption by the poorest segments of the population contributes to local economies. The main suggestion for the government on this issue would be to not just give them […]
National welfare programmes and COVID-19 — part I on May 12, 2020Last month, Prime Minister Imran Khan announced country’s biggest emergency cash programme under which Rs 144 billion are be disbursed to 12 million beneficiaries. The World Bank has praised the PTI government’s Ehsaas Welfare Programme, and its effectiveness in providing aid under the critical threat environment formed by the sharp spike in COVID-19 infections. The […]