Pakistan-based Telenor Microfinance Bank reported a surge in the use of its mobile money services in 2017, with the number of active mobile wallet customers tripling during the year.

The bank ended 2017 with some 6.2 million active users m-wallet customers (those who had used the service within the last 90 days).

Usage of its Easypaisa money transfer service also increased through 2017, with 19.9 million customers conducting 223 million transactions. The value of transactions hit PKR683 billion ($5.89 billion), an increase of 8.4 per cent year-on-year.

Shahid Mustafa, president and CEO Telenor Microfinance Bank, told Mobile World Live its major focus in 2017 was implementing a biometric verification system (BVS). From 1 July 2017, the government required all money transfer transactions to flow through BVS devices.

Mustafa noted BVS allows customers to send and receive larger amounts of money, resulting in an increase in the average throughout per transaction. The company staked a claim as Pakistan’s leading microfinance institution, with the largest footprint of BVS devices.

The CEO added increasing mobile account revenue was also a focus area in 2017 and it achieved more than 30 per cent growth.

Approved service
Late last month Easypaisa received the GSMA Mobile Money Certification, which is a global initiative to bring safer, more transparent and more resilient financial services to millions of mobile money users around the world.

Mustafa said: “The certification will enable us to attract commercial business partners and merchants, and encourage other financial institutions to integrate our branchless banking services with confidence and pride.”

World Bank data reveals more than 100 million Pakistanis are unbanked, accounting for 5 per cent of the world’s unbanked population.

“Our mission is to provide the under-banked with instant access to relevant, convenient and affordable financial services. The plan is to focus on developing a payment ecosystem and other relevant use cases which enhance customer acquisition and stickiness. Greater growth in smartphone and data users has also created an opportunity to tap the app market. All of this will translate into active mobile accounts, which is the primary focal point for the future,” Mustafa explained.

The bank, previously named Tameer Microfinance Bank, was rebranded after Norway-based Telenor Group increased its stake to 100 per cent in 2016. The bank was set up in 2009 as Pakistan’s first mobile banking platform, Easypaisa.