Yahoo Finance Visa and 1Link Team Up to Expand Digital Payments in Pakistan
Visa Inc. V is working to significantly expand digital payment usage and financial inclusion in Pakistan. It intends to bolster the number of businesses that accept digital payments by 10 times over the next three years, per Reuters.
To support this ambitious goal, Visa partnered with 1Link, a major payment service provider in the country. This partnership is expected to improve the ease of digital transactions, including remittances, and broaden acceptance options for smaller merchants across the country.
The partnership will likely make sending and receiving remittances in Pakistan more efficient and secure. This is crucial for Pakistan, as remittances from overseas Pakistanis are a major source of foreign exchange. It also plays a major role in the country's economy. The partnership will help streamline these transactions and encourage the use of legal channels for remittances.
The scope for Visa in Pakistan is substantial, given the country's large unbanked population and growing need for digital payment solutions. Of the 137 million adult population in the country, only 60% have a bank account. By increasing the number of businesses that accept digital payments and investing in payment infrastructure, Visa has the opportunity to capture a significant share of the market while aligning with Pakistan's broader push toward digitization.
The news mentions that Pakistan recently signed a $7 billion bailout agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in July. This deal includes reforms aimed at raising government revenue and formalizing the economy. Digital payments are a key focus of these reforms, as the government aims to increase economic transparency and efficiency through digitization.
The partnership between Visa and 1Link will enable the latter’s PayPak cards, which are Pakistan's local payment cards and a competitor in the digital payments space, to be accepted on V's Cybersource Platform for online transactions.
Visa's Price Performance
Shares of Visa have gained 15.4% in the past year compared with the industry’s 15.9% jump.
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Zacks Rank & Key Picks
Visa currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
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