In what is a first for the MENA (the Middle East and North Africa) region, and third in the CEMEA (Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa) region, United Bank Limited (UBL), Pakistan’s fastest-growing digital bank, has joined forces with Visa, the world’s leader in digital payments, to drive fintech enablement in Pakistan by becoming the first “Visa Ready BIN Sponsor” in the region.
As a certified Visa Ready BIN Sponsor, UBL will offer its BINs that could be used by fintech, enabling them to build and launch payment solutions that meet Visa’s global standards around security and functionality, that too at a low cost.
Visa created the Visa Ready program to help reduce the need for fintech to divert their focus on navigating licensing and payment networks requirements. Traditionally, any institution that needed to issue a payment card in the region used to go through the long process of finding a BIN sponsor. In establishing the program, Visa is supporting fintech to quickly and efficiently stand-up payment solutions for their end clients—thus accelerating time-to-market and fueling their business growth.
Kamil Khan, Visa’s Country Manager for Pakistan, commented, “Pakistan has a massive pool of fintech and there is a tremendous potential to accelerate digitization. As the first partner to offer BIN Sponsorship, UBL can enable the launch of card programs across non-traditional financial institutions and fintech in the market bringing to light newer use cases. Visa Ready allows UBL to provide rapid access to Visa’s certified infrastructure – giving fintechs the confidence that payment flows meet local regulations. We are looking forward to seeing a greater number fintech companies benefitting from this partnership with UBL as we continue to drive innovation and support the launch of products and solutions that transform the payment experiences of consumers in Pakistan.”
Sharjeel Shahid – Group Executive Digital Banking UBL, commented, “UBL aims to maintain its lead as the front-runner in the digital-ecosystem by creating an enablement platform for fintechs desirous of entering the market with new use-cases. Our status as a Visa Ready partner is one more step in that direction, where the objective is to create a seamless and fast-track onboarding experience for non-banking players”.
Through Visa Ready BIN sponsorship, UBL becomes a go-to partner for fintech and business players as it provides them with the necessary resources and framework to launch financial products quickly and seamlessly, that comply with the local regulations.
