Irfan Wahab Khan

CEO of Telenor Pakistan

Compiled from 1 recorded interview. Every statement below is drawn from the passage cited beside it.

Irfan Wahab Khan is the CEO of Telenor Pakistan and Chairman of Telenor Microfinance Bank. Khan was a founding member of Telenor Pakistan's startup team in 2004. His career spans North America, Europe and Asia, with roles at Orange, T-Mobile, Ericsson and Telcordia Technologies.

Career

Khan's career spans North America, Europe and Asia. He has held roles with Orange, T-Mobile, Ericsson and Telcordia Technologies. Khan was a founding member of Telenor Pakistan's startup team in 2004, and he has said he was the first employee at Telenor, joining in 2004. [1]

According to Khan, his company launched in 2005 and reached its first 10 million customers in the two and a half years after that. He has said he was posted to Norway and, after many discussions, was able to convince his company's global CEO to get in. Khan has also said he became CEO of the telecoms business, which brought bigger responsibilities. [1]

Khan is the CEO of Telenor Pakistan and Chairman of Telenor Microfinance Bank. He holds board positions with Grameenphone Bangladesh, PTCL in Pakistan and Telenor Myanmar. [1]

EasyPaisa

Khan has said the inspiration came from M-Pesa, a service that started in Kenya. He has said he went back to the board and tried to convince it that an adjacent service could be launched. He was turned down the first time and was reminded that the company is a telco and that dealing with money carries reputation risk. Khan has said the State Bank issued his company a branchless banking license in 2009. According to Khan, about 50,000 of roughly 200,000 of his company's retailers were signed up for the mobile money service. [1]

Khan has said EasyPaisa started as a division of the telecoms business and was separated to scale up. Under a microfinance license, he has said, his company also had to do a lot of traditional microfinance. The company decided to take full control of the bank by buying back the local partner on the microfinance side. An incoming investor took a 45% stake alongside Telenor with 55%, according to Khan, who has described Ant Group and Telenor Group as forming a joint venture. He has said his company has leveraged Ant's platform, which he describes as proven and tested across various markets. [1]

Scale of EasyPaisa

Khan has said EasyPaisa has 50 million accounts, which means about one in four Pakistanis is a customer. He has said his company has over 16 million active wallet users who transact on a regular basis, and that it does about 5 million transactions and over 600,000 loans every day. According to Khan, customers used EasyPaisa for transactions worth about 9% of Pakistan's GDP in 2024. [1]

Digital retail bank

Khan has said his company is transitioning its microfinance license into a digital retail bank. He has said this is the first case of such a transition, compared with newcomers who will get the new digital retail license. According to Khan, his company becomes the first digital bank in Pakistan. He has described microfinance, as the name suggests, as catering to a specific segment and having caps. [1]

Khan has said that for people with a good credit score, his company believes it has enough data to give quite substantial loans compared with commercial banks. He has said his company will offer credit cards very soon. [1]

Technology and operations

Khan has said his company used to have over 300 branches and reduced them to under 100. He has said it began investing in the tech platform after Ant came in. According to Khan, his company has started deploying some use cases because the biggest opportunity is personalization. He has also said it has been lucky to attract and retain talent and to keep growing that talent in-house. [1]

Partnerships and products

Khan has said his company's partnership with the Benazir Income Support Program dates back to about 2009. He has said that during COVID his company introduced an OPD medical insurance concept through EasyPaisa. He has also said that insurance, health and life cover became accessible to ordinary Pakistanis. According to Khan, a person who cannot afford a plot or a real estate investment on their own can do fractional ownership through tokenization. [1]

Khan has said his company's promise to its customers is that their money is safe. He has said it will provide fraud insurance that pays customers back if they are defrauded, and that the app is robust, with multi-factor authentication and OTP. [1]

Khan has said his company would like to stick to its core business, which is a digital retail bank, and does not want to be an e-commerce platform or a ride-hailing platform itself. He has said it is doing deep integration with partners that include food delivery services and ride-hailing services, and that it prioritises bigger players, because more transactions come from them. According to Khan, by virtue of his company's partnership with AliPay, the AliPay plus platform is the largest global platform. [1]

Remittances and expansion

Khan has said his company first piloted blockchain on international remittance. According to Khan, it was able to set up a corridor between Malaysia and Pakistan, because it also has large telecoms operations in Malaysia. He has said his company bought a bank in Serbia. [1]

Views

Khan has said that even today about half the population is unbanked or underbanked. He has said that at the time, State Bank data showed 75% of Pakistanis were unbanked. Khan has said he firmly believes in the power of technology. In his words, the question is how to empower every Pakistani digitally and financially so that they can be in charge of their own lives. [1]

Khan has said smartphone penetration is currently close to 55%. He has said female participation in the economy is only 18%, compared with 50% of the population. According to Khan, the idea is not to make money on payments as such. He has said limitations have been put on sharing data, especially with the private sector, and that a robust digital infrastructure is very important for Pakistan. [1]

Khan has said the State Bank is talking about a country-specific digital currency. He has said his company has broken the barrier of trust around sending money digitally. According to Khan, financial planning and investment advice is tricky in the market at present, because it comes with a lot of responsibility. He has also said the question is how to take away complexities and bring in convenience. [1]

Timeline

2004
Founding member of Telenor Pakistan's startup team and first employee at Telenor[1]
2005
Khan's company launches[1]
2009
State Bank issues Khan's company a branchless banking license[1]
2024
EasyPaisa customers transact the equivalent of about 9% of Pakistan's GDP[1]

Appearances

DateTitleWhere
2025-01-29 Why brick and mortar will never bank Pakistan's other 100 million Thought Behind Things

Frequently asked questions

Who is Irfan Wahab Khan?

Irfan Wahab Khan is the CEO of Telenor Pakistan and Chairman of Telenor Microfinance Bank. He was a founding member of Telenor Pakistan's startup team in 2004. His career spans North America, Europe and Asia.[1]

What does Irfan Wahab Khan do?

Irfan Wahab Khan serves as the CEO of Telenor Pakistan and Chairman of Telenor Microfinance Bank. He also holds board positions with Grameenphone Bangladesh, PTCL in Pakistan and Telenor Myanmar.[1]

Which companies has Irfan Wahab Khan worked for?

Irfan Wahab Khan has held roles with Orange, T-Mobile, Ericsson and Telcordia Technologies. He was also a founding member of Telenor Pakistan's startup team in 2004.[1]

When did Irfan Wahab Khan join Telenor?

Irfan Wahab Khan was a founding member of Telenor Pakistan's startup team in 2004. He has said he was the first employee at Telenor, joining in 2004.[1]

Which boards does Irfan Wahab Khan sit on?

Irfan Wahab Khan holds board positions with Grameenphone Bangladesh, PTCL in Pakistan and Telenor Myanmar. He is also Chairman of Telenor Microfinance Bank.[1]

What has Irfan Wahab Khan said about banking access in Pakistan?

Irfan Wahab Khan has said that even today about half the population is unbanked or underbanked. He has said that State Bank data showed 75% of Pakistanis were unbanked at one point. He has also said the question is how to empower every Pakistani digitally and financially.[1]

How large is EasyPaisa according to Irfan Wahab Khan?

Irfan Wahab Khan has said EasyPaisa has 50 million accounts, which means about one in four Pakistanis is a customer. He has said customers used EasyPaisa for transactions worth about 9% of Pakistan's GDP in 2024.[1]

References

  1. Why brick and mortar will never bank Pakistan's other 100 million . Thought Behind Things , 2025-01-29.
Show the source passages (67 statements)
  1. Khan is the CEO of Telenor Pakistan and Chairman of Telenor Microfinance Bank. He currently serves as the CEO of Telenor Pakistan and Chairman of Telenor Microfinance Bank.
  2. Khan has held roles with Orange, T-Mobile, Ericsson and Telcordia Technologies. His extensive experience includes roles with Orange, T-Mobile, Ericsson, and Telcordia Technologies.
  3. Khan was a founding member of Telenor Pakistan's startup team in 2004. he was a founding member of Telenor Pakistan's startup team in 2004.
  4. Khan has a career spanning North America, Europe and Asia. a career spanning North America, Europe, and Asia.
  5. Khan has board positions with Grameenphone Bangladesh, PTCL in Pakistan and Telenor Myanmar. Khan's leadership extends to board positions with Grameenphone Bangladesh, PTCL in Pakistan, and Telenor Myanmar.
  6. Khan has said the inspiration came from M-Pesa, a service that started in Kenya. we had the inspiration through M-Pesa jo Kenya mein service shuru hui thi.
  7. Khan has said he went back to the board and tried to convince it that an adjacent service could be launched. went back to our board and tried to convince ki yaar this could be a adjacent service which we can launch.
  8. Khan has said he was turned down the first time and was reminded that the company is a telco and that dealing with money carries reputation risk. I was turned down first time kyunki I was reminded ki we are a telco and reputation risk to deal with money
  9. Khan has said that in 2009 the State Bank issued his company a branchless banking license. in 2009 when State Bank issued us the branchless banking license
  10. Khan has said about 50,000 of roughly 200,000 of his company's retailers were signed up for the mobile money service. Takreeban hamare 2 lakh ke kareeb retailers the jismein se takreeban 1/4, 50,000 ke kareeb we were able to sign up for the mobile money service.
  11. Khan has said that under a microfinance license, his company also had to do a lot of traditional microfinance. So, that was also, so we have to do under that license, jo ke microfinance ka license tha, we also have to do a lot of microfinance, traditional microfinance.
  12. Khan has said his company decided to take full control of the bank by buying back the local partner on the microfinance side. At that time we decided to have full control of the bank, buy back the the the local partner which was on the microfinance side.
  13. Khan has said an incoming investor took a 45% stake alongside Telenor with 55%. So, they came in and invested 40 and took 45% stake along with Telenor with 55%.
  14. Khan has said EasyPaisa started as a division of the telecoms business and was separated to scale up. EasyPaisa started as initially as one division within our telecoms business. But then we realized ki yaar isko agar hum separate karenge toh that's how we are able to actually scale it up.
  15. Khan has said Ant Group and Telenor Group form a joint venture. So, Ant is so it's a joint venture between Ant Group and Telenor Group.
  16. Khan has said his company has leveraged Ant's platform, which he describes as proven and tested across various markets. We have really leveraged on the Ant's platform, jiski base ke upar which is I mean which is proven and tested across various markets
  17. Khan has said his company first piloted blockchain on international remittance. humne sabse pehle blockchain ka pilot kiya on international remittance.
  18. Khan has said his company was able to set up a corridor between Malaysia and Pakistan, because it also has large telecoms operations in Malaysia. we were able to do a corridor between Malaysia and Pakistan because Malaysia mein bhi hamare telecoms ka bada bahut bada operations hai.
  19. Khan has said he was posted to Norway and, after many discussions, was able to convince his company's global CEO to get in. But then over the years, I was posted to Norway and I was able to actually convince our global CEO and we had a lot of discussions around that ki we should get in.
  20. Khan has said his company bought a bank in Serbia. And then we bought bank in Serbia, for example, in Europe.
  21. Khan has said he became CEO of the telecoms business, which brought bigger responsibilities. Meanwhile on the I got, you know, bigger responsibilities when I become CEO of the telecoms business.
  22. Khan has said he was the first employee at Telenor, joining in 2004. I was actually I was the first employee at Telenor back in 2004.
  23. Khan has said his company launched in 2005. jab humne launch kiya 2005 mein
  24. Khan has said his company reached its first 10 million customers in the two and a half years after that. we achieve our first 10 million customers in pichle do, dhai saal mein uske baad.
  25. Khan has said that even today about half the population is unbanked or underbanked. aaj bhi aapke takreeban aadhi population is unbanked or underbanked
  26. Khan has said that at the time, State Bank data showed 75% of Pakistanis were unbanked. us waqt Pakistanis were, as per State Bank data, 75% Pakistanis were unbanked
  27. Khan has said he firmly believes in the power of technology. I firmly believe in the power of technology.
  28. Khan has said the question is how to empower every Pakistani digitally and financially so that they can be in charge of their own lives. kaise hum har Pakistani ko empower karein digitally and financially so that they can be in charge of their own lives.
  29. Khan has said his company has over 16 million active wallet users who transact on a regular basis. we have over 16 million active wallet users, jo ke transactions kar rahe hain on a regular basis.
  30. Khan has said EasyPaisa has 50 million accounts, which means about one in four Pakistanis is a customer. we have 50 million accounts. That means ki har chautha Pakistani EasyPaisa ka customer hai.
  31. Khan has said his company does about 5 million transactions and over 600,000 loans every day. we are doing about 5 million transactions a day and over 600,000 loans every day.
  32. Khan has said customers used EasyPaisa for transactions worth about 9% of Pakistan's GDP in 2024. 2024 ko jo humne close kiya toh takreeban hamare customers have actually used EasyPaisa platform to send money and do transactions worth 9% of Pakistan's GDP.
  33. Khan has said his company is the largest mutual fund distributor, though not by ticket size. So, we are the largest mutual fund distributor, not by the ticket size.
  34. Khan has said his company is one of the largest in insurance premiums in that industry. we are one of the largest premium, you know, insurance ke point of view se in that industry.
  35. Khan has said EasyPaisa is the largest financial service within his company. EasyPaisa remains the largest financial service and you know, which is sort of a flagship within within our company.
  36. Khan has said EasyPaisa has become a category name. to the extent ki EasyPaisa becomes a category name.
  37. Khan has said his company is transitioning its microfinance license into a digital retail bank. we're going to be transitioning or, uh, transform our microfinance license into a digital retail bank.
  38. Khan has said this is the first case of such a transition, compared with newcomers who will get the new digital retail license. This is the first case of that because we were already there compared to the newcomers who will just get the, uh, the new digital retail license.
  39. Khan has said his company becomes the first digital bank in Pakistan. We become the digital bank, first digital bank in Pakistan
  40. Khan has said microfinance, as the name suggests, caters to a specific segment and has caps. microfinance as as name suggests ke you are, uh, catering for a specific segment and and there are caps.
  41. Khan has said that for people with a good credit score, his company believes it has enough data to give quite substantial loans compared with commercial banks. People who have a good credit score and we believe that we have enough data, we can give them quite substantial loans compared to commercial banks.
  42. Khan has said his company will offer credit cards very soon. you will see very soon, uh, our offering on the credit cards as well.
  43. Khan has said his company's partnership with the Benazir Income Support Program dates back to about 2009. we started with, I think as back as 2009, uh, Benazir Income Support Program, uh, partnership.
  44. Khan has said that during COVID his company introduced an OPD medical insurance concept through EasyPaisa. humne even COVID ke doran medical insurance OPD ka concept EasyPaisa ke through kiya
  45. Khan has said insurance, health and life cover became accessible to ordinary Pakistanis. So the whole concept around insurance, health, life, yeh sab ek uh aam Pakistani ke liye mayassar ho gayi.
  46. Khan has said a person who cannot afford a plot or a real estate investment on their own can do fractional ownership through tokenization. If you cannot afford um um a plot or a uh or investment in real estate on your own, you can do a fractional ownership through tokenization.
  47. Khan has said his company used to have over 300 branches and reduced them to under 100. we used to have over 300 branches, they reduced it to under 100
  48. Khan has said his company began investing in the tech platform after Ant came in. since Ant came in then we also start investing into the tech platform
  49. Khan has said his company has started deploying some use cases because the biggest opportunity is personalization. We start deploying some use cases already now because the biggest opportunity is personalization.
  50. Khan has said his company has been lucky to attract and retain talent and to keep growing that talent in-house. So we've been quite lucky to actually attract and retain talent but also keep on growing that talent in-house
  51. Khan has said his company's promise to its customers is that their money is safe. that is our promise to our customers ke your money is safe
  52. Khan has said his company will provide fraud insurance that pays customers back if they are defrauded. we will provide a fraud insurance. Agar aapko koi bhi fraud hota hai toh we will pay you back and it will be covered through insurance.
  53. Khan has said the app is robust, with multi-factor authentication and OTP. Multi factor authentication, OTP, app is been quite robust.
  54. Khan has said his company would like to stick to its core business, which is a digital retail bank. we would like to stick to our core business which is a digital retail bank.
  55. Khan has said his company does not want to be an e-commerce platform or a ride-hailing platform itself. We don't want to be a e-commerce platform of ourselves. We don't want to be a ride hailing platform
  56. Khan has said his company is doing deep integration with partners that include food delivery services and ride-hailing services. taake un partners ke saath hum kaafi deep integration uh kar rahe hain jismein food uh Panda bhi hai, food delivery services hain, ride hailing services hain
  57. Khan has said his company prioritises bigger players, because more transactions come from them. we see number of transactions coming from bigger players, so we put our we prioritize those
  58. Khan has said smartphone penetration is currently close to 55%. takreeban hamari is waqt 55% ke kareeb smartphone penetration
  59. Khan has said female participation in the economy is only 18%, compared with 50% of the population. our female participation into economy is only 18% uh, compared to 50% population.
  60. Khan has said the idea is not to make money on payments as such. the idea is not to make money on payments as such.
  61. Khan has said limitations have been put on sharing data, especially with the private sector. Uh but then we have sort of put limitations ke humne data share nahi karna, khas tor pe private sector se nahi karna.
  62. Khan has said a robust digital infrastructure is very important for Pakistan. um a robust digital infrastructure is very important for Pakistan.
  63. Khan has said the State Bank is talking about a country-specific digital currency. State Bank is talking about country specific digital currency
  64. Khan has said his company has broken the barrier of trust around sending money digitally. was the element of trust ke you can send money digitally. And that barrier we have broken.
  65. Khan has said financial planning and investment advice is tricky in the market at present, because it comes with a lot of responsibility. When it comes to financial planning and investment advice, that's a little bit tricky, tricky. Hamari market ke andar is waqt because I mean it comes with a lot of responsibility as well.
  66. Khan has said that by virtue of his company's partnership with AliPay, the AliPay plus platform is the largest global platform. Again by virtue of our partnership with AliPay, AliPay plus platform is the largest global platform
  67. Khan has said the question is how to take away complexities and bring in convenience. how can we take away the complexities and bring in convenience.