Pakistani Fintech SadaPay earns pilot launch approval from SBP

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has finally granted approval to SadaPay, a Pakistani fintech startup, to officially begin its pilot operations.

SadaPay is partnering with MasterCard to bring modern financial services to Pakistan. It hopes to eliminate the complexity of banking and make the handling of money simple. By removing the high costs of managing the physical infrastructure of traditional banks from the equation, it aims to pass those savings onto the customer to provide free financial services.

As per SBP's approval, SadaPay will operate under SBP's supervision for a minimum of 60 days. During this time, the fintech startup is required to follow a set of SBP requirements and clear SBP inspections to attain a full commercial license approval for its public roll-out.

The fintech startup has been testing its app and debit card internally with friends and family under the “in-principle” approval awarded to us by the SBP earlier this year. It is now ready to onboard people from the waitlist. Under this pilot, SadaPay will onboard a maximum of 1,000 accounts. The first few users will also get the opportunity to be part of the Founders Club and will receive SadaPay's limited-edition Black debit card.

Brandon Timinsky, founder and CEO of SadaPay, commenting on the development, said that "the pre-launch demand for SadaPay has exceeded all of our expectations and our team is totally blown away to see nearly 150,000 people on our waiting list. We can’t wait to have our users experience what we’ve built over the past year!"

The beta (or the intial version) of the SadaPay app will allow users to send and receive local transfers, receive remittance payments from overseas, use virtual and physical debit cards, access card controls from the app, and request free delivery of your physical debit card. More features will be added to the app in the coming future via updates.

Dr. Waqar Masood Khan, SadaPay’s Chairman, also comments that "it is heartening to see the State Bank of Pakistan so eager to unlock the true potential of digital payments in the country. SadaPay has always been a mission-driven company with a focus on improving lives and I couldn’t be more excited to witness the impact this proposition can have on our economy."

The pilot phase will start from January 2021 and will continue till March 2021. SadaPay hopes to begin its public roll-out during April-June 2021.