PPAF Joins Hands with Telenor Pakistan and Tameer Microfinance Bank for Financial Inclusion of Poor Communities | InfoZonePK

Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF) has joined hands with Telenor PakistanTelenor and Tameer Microfinance Bank to provide financial services to poor and un-banked communities of Baluchistan, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Skardu (GB), Punjab and Chirah (ICT).

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to this effect was signed by CEO PPAF Qazi Azmat Isa and Chief Finance Officer Telenor Pakistan Karl Erik Broten at a local hotel here Friday.

Through this pilot project, financial services will be provided to select communities in the regions by establishing easypaisa shops, which will provide services that include bill payments, money transfers, donations, international home transfers, withdrawals and deposits through mobile accounts. In each PPAF community, one easypaisa shop will be set up to cater to their banking needs. Once the pilot project is completed, it will be replicated nationwide.

Addressing the audience, CEO PPAF Qazi Azmat Isa said, “The financial access and inclusion are important aspects to alleviate poverty and this partnership will go a long way to provide banking services to the PPAF’s un-banked communities in every nook and corner of the country. PPAF’s presence in 121 districts through 116 partner organizations speaks volumes for its outreach and there are certain communities which have little or no access to formal financial infrastructure”.

CFO Telenor Pakistan, Karl Erik Broten said, “We appreciate that PPAF has partnered with Telenor to provide financial inclusion to its un-banked communities. Only 14% of the people in the country have access to formal financial services and it is imperative that we reach poor communities and increase financial inclusion. Easypaisa offers convenient, instant and secure financial services that can be carried out over-the-counter through 20,000 easypaisa shops across Pakistan or through the customer’s own mobile phone using mobile accounts. By establishing easypaisa shops in select communities we are looking at increasing the outreach of branchless banking which will bring in the un-banked into the mainstream.”