M. Mudassar Aqil

banker and CEO of Easypaisa

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

M. Mudassar Aqil is a banker and the chief executive officer of Easypaisa, born and raised in Lahore. He started his career in banking and operations and joined Telenor Microfinance Bank in 2019. Aqil has spoken about microfinance, digital payments and financial inclusion in Pakistan.

Early life and education

Aqil was born and raised in Lahore and received his schooling there. He attended an old missionary school in Lahore. He earned a BSc degree from a college, studying physics and mathematics. He later earned an MBA from a university in Maryland. [1]

Career

Aqil started his career in banking and operations. He received a job offer in banking before he finished his MBA. He worked on an optical character recognition (OCR) project, which he describes as his first interesting project. He also worked on a large process re-engineering project. [1]

He later spent a while in marketing, and he ran business intelligence and analytics for a bank. He spent a long period in the Washington DC and Baltimore area. Later in that period he was in Buffalo, New York. [1]

Return to Pakistan

Aqil returned to Pakistan in 2006. He returned partly so that someone would be close to his ageing parents. He says he feels very fortunate to be in Pakistan and has no regrets about returning. [1]

Banking in Pakistan

Somebody introduced him to someone, which led to a job offer from Bank Alfalah. He joined Bank Alfalah in quality assurance and joined FINCA Microfinance Bank Limited. [1]

He joined a microfinance bank in 2011 that shortly afterwards was renamed FINCA Microfinance Bank. He says he joined as chief executive officer and was there for eight years. After eight years in one organisation, he was approached about a CEO role and thought he should try something new. He joined Telenor Microfinance Bank in 2019 and is the CEO of Easypaisa. [1]

Easypaisa

Aqil says Telenor Bank is the parent entity and Easypaisa is a brand. He says his organisation has 150,000 agents in Pakistan, and that 25,000 QR merchants are active. He notes that Pakistan has 16,000 bank branches but 200,000 agents. [1]

He says his organisation pays about 250 million rupees in agent commission. He says no cash-in fee is charged to the customer, but his organisation absorbs the cost. He says this costs his organisation 1.5 to 2 billion rupees a year. [1]

He says his organisation has given more than four million digital loans and has disbursed about 12 billion rupees so far. He says the digital loans are of small value, roughly up to 10,000 rupees. He also says people no longer need to come to a branch. [1]

Aqil said two mutual funds would go live inside the Easypaisa app as early as the next month. He says the first product is a relatively basic money market fund. He calls payments a pillar that is his organisation's bread and butter, and says lending is a very large use case for his organisation. [1]

He says his organisation has opened its APIs on an open API platform for other partners, and that the arrangement is called a mini program. Two of the first four use cases are live and two are in the pipeline. He says there is no new account opening and that it is a single click. He adds that his organisation is working on building a developer ecosystem in Pakistan. [1]

Views on microfinance and financial inclusion

Aqil describes microfinance banks as credit-centric. He says he had no idea what microfinance was, and that his interest began with a large, unserved market. He says 74 percent of urban Pakistanis work for micro, small or medium enterprises. [1]

He says that only about 30 to 35 million people in Pakistan have access to financial services. He puts Pakistan's share of global financial exclusion at about 5 percent, and says one in 20 people without banking access worldwide is Pakistani. He cites a 2016 McKinsey study estimating that digital finance could add $36 billion to Pakistan's GDP. [1]

He says cartelisation is a major problem in Pakistan. He says some people need only 50,000 to 60,000 rupees to get on their feet. He says microfinance deposits of tiny amounts are hard to make viable, which keeps the focus on credit. He adds that technology has now arrived in this space, with mobile wallets and everything possible on the phone. [1]

Aqil says more than 95 percent of payments in Pakistan are made in cash. He argues that cash should be made more expensive than cashless payments. He says most bank branches in Pakistan have become cash management centres. [1]

Views on the future

Aqil says technology is not the barrier. He says full digital KYC is now available in Pakistan, and that the Raast fast payment system is now available. He thinks the fundamentals of the digital payments stack are in good shape. [1]

He projects that about 100 million Pakistanis will use digital payments within four years. He says most Pakistanis will own a smartphone within three years. He sees Pakistan becoming a much more financially inclusive society within five years. He says Pakistan's median age is 22. [1]

Aqil says Pakistan will be a transformed country by 2050. He says young Pakistanis will decide the country's future. He describes a market where growth means taking share from others as a zero-sum game. [1]

Personal life

Aqil says his father was a career banker who gave him a credit card in fifth grade. He describes himself as a tech lover and an early adopter. [1]

Timeline

2006
Returned to Pakistan.[1]
2011
Joined a microfinance bank that was shortly afterwards renamed FINCA Microfinance Bank.[1]
2019
Joined Telenor Microfinance Bank.[1]

Appearances

DateTitleWhere
2022-06-24 Pakistan's fintech gap: one in twenty unbanked people Thought Behind Things

Frequently asked questions

Who is M. Mudassar Aqil?

M. Mudassar Aqil is a banker and the CEO of Easypaisa. He was born and raised in Lahore. He started his career in banking and operations and joined Telenor Microfinance Bank in 2019.[1]

What does M. Mudassar Aqil do?

M. Mudassar Aqil is the CEO of Easypaisa. Earlier he ran business intelligence and analytics for a bank. He says Telenor Bank is the parent entity and Easypaisa is a brand.[1]

Where did M. Mudassar Aqil study?

M. Mudassar Aqil received his schooling in Lahore and attended an old missionary school there. He earned a BSc degree, studying physics and mathematics. He later earned an MBA from a university in Maryland.[1]

Where is M. Mudassar Aqil from?

M. Mudassar Aqil was born and raised in Lahore. He returned to Pakistan in 2006 and says he has no regrets about returning.[1]

When did M. Mudassar Aqil return to Pakistan, and why?

M. Mudassar Aqil returned to Pakistan in 2006. He returned partly so that someone would be close to his ageing parents. He says he feels very fortunate to be in Pakistan.[1]

What is M. Mudassar Aqil's career history?

M. Mudassar Aqil started his career in banking and operations. A job offer from Bank Alfalah followed an introduction, and he joined a microfinance bank in 2011 that was shortly afterwards renamed FINCA Microfinance Bank. He joined Telenor Microfinance Bank in 2019 and is the CEO of Easypaisa.[1]

What does M. Mudassar Aqil say about cash payments in Pakistan?

M. Mudassar Aqil says more than 95 percent of payments in Pakistan are made in cash. He argues that cash should be made more expensive than cashless payments. He says most bank branches in Pakistan have become cash management centres.[1]

What does M. Mudassar Aqil expect for digital payments in Pakistan?

M. Mudassar Aqil projects that about 100 million Pakistanis will use digital payments within four years. He says most Pakistanis will own a smartphone within three years. He sees Pakistan becoming a much more financially inclusive society within five years.[1]

References

  1. Pakistan's fintech gap: one in twenty unbanked people . Thought Behind Things , 2022-06-24.
Show the source passages (71 statements)
  1. He was born and raised in Lahore. Born and raised in Lahore.
  2. He received his schooling in Lahore. Main Lahore se hi maine apni schooling hui.
  3. He attended an old missionary school in Lahore. Cathedral school se, which is an old missionary school of Lahore.
  4. He earned a BSc degree from a college. I went to FC College, got my BSc degree from there.
  5. He studied physics and mathematics for his BSc. In physics and math, but don't ask me any physics and math questions today.
  6. He earned an MBA from a university in Maryland. I got my MBA from Salisbury University in Maryland.
  7. He received a job offer in banking before he finished his MBA. I was actually abhi MBA khatam bhi nahi hua tha, I got a job offer
  8. He spent a long period in the Washington DC and Baltimore area. kaafi arsa mujhe maine Washington DC, Baltimore area mein guzara.
  9. Later in that period he was in Buffalo, New York. Then towards the later part I was in Buffalo, New York
  10. He returned to Pakistan in 2006. Aur phir 2006 mein I came back to Pakistan.
  11. He returned to Pakistan partly so that someone would be close to his ageing parents. mere walidain jo the ab woh zahir hai woh yahan akele the aur boodhe ho rahe the. I thought ki somebody has to be close to them.
  12. He says he feels very fortunate to be in Pakistan and has no regrets about returning. No, no, not at all. I've been I feel very fortunate ki I'm here.
  13. He started his career in banking and operations. So I started my career in banking and operations, which is the massive back office of all the banks
  14. He worked on an optical character recognition (OCR) project, which he describes as his first interesting project. pehla interesting project jo tha woh OCR tha which is optical character recognition
  15. He worked on a large process re-engineering project. process re-engineering ka ek hamara kaafi bada project tha. I worked on that.
  16. He later spent a while in marketing. And then phir main then I was in marketing for a while.
  17. He ran business intelligence and analytics for a bank. I ran the shop for BI and analytics for the bank.
  18. Somebody introduced him to someone, which led to a job offer from Bank Alfalah. somebody introduced me to someone and that led to a job offer from Bank Alfalah.
  19. He joined a microfinance bank in 2011 that shortly afterwards was renamed FINCA Microfinance Bank. Aur uske baad 2011 mein maine join kiya. At the time it was Kashf Microfinance Bank. But shortly thereafter uska naam change hoke Finca Microfinance Bank ho gaya
  20. He joined as chief executive officer and was there for eight years. I joined as their CEO. I was there for 8 years.
  21. He joined Telenor Microfinance Bank in 2019. And then in 2019 mein phir maine Telenor Microfinance Bank join kiya.
  22. He is the CEO of Easypaisa. who is the CEO of EasyPaisa.
  23. He joined Bank Alfalah in quality assurance and joined FINCA Microfinance Bank Limited. Joining Alfalah - Quality Assurance & FINCA Microfinance Bank Limited.
  24. After eight years in one organisation, he was approached about a CEO role and thought he should try something new. They were looking for a CEO aur unhone mujhse rabta kiya aur us waqt khair 8 saal kaafi lamba span hota hai ek idaray ke andar aur to I thought ke ab kuch nayi cheez try karni chahiye
  25. He describes microfinance banks as credit-centric. microfinance basically ek credit centric bank hote hain
  26. He says he had no idea what microfinance was. I had no idea what microfinance is.
  27. He says 74 percent of urban Pakistanis work for micro, small or medium enterprises. 74 feesad log jo hamari urban Pakistan mein rehte hain woh ek micro, small ya medium enterprise ke liye kaam karte hain
  28. He says his interest in microfinance began with a large, unserved market. mera interest aur uske baad meri fascination yahin se start hui ki itni badi market hai jo ki unserved hai
  29. He says that only about 30 to 35 million people in Pakistan have access to financial services. Pakistan mein 3 se 3.5 crore log jo hain aaj sirf unke paas financial services hain
  30. He says Pakistan's share of global financial exclusion is about 5 percent. To hamara global share in financial exclusion mein 5% hai.
  31. He says one in 20 people without banking access worldwide is Pakistani. one out of every 20th person who does not have a banking service available is a Pakistani
  32. He cites a 2016 McKinsey study estimating that digital finance could add $36 billion to Pakistan's GDP. ek to 2016 mein McKinsey ne ek study ki Pakistan ke upar jisme unhone yeh estimate kiya ke digital finance can add 36 billion dollars to Pakistan's GDP.
  33. He says cartelisation is a major problem in Pakistan. Pakistan mein cartalization is a very massive problem
  34. He says some people need only 50,000 to 60,000 rupees to get on their feet. logon ke paas sirf unko 50-60 hazaar rupay ki zaroorat hoti hai jisse wo apne pairon pe khade ho jaate hain
  35. He says microfinance deposits of tiny amounts are hard to make viable, which keeps the focus on credit. microfinance ka focus aaj bhi qarze ke upar zyada isliye hai ke jo deposit ka business hai, yani payment ka business hai, deposit ka business, usmein bahut hi choti amount ke upar usko viable banana bahut mushkil hai.
  36. He says technology has now arrived in this space, with mobile wallets and everything possible on the phone. jab tak technology is space mein nahi aa gayi jahan aaj hum pahunch chuke hain, jahan ab mobile wallet ka zamana hai aur phone ke upar sab cheezein ho sakti hain
  37. He says more than 95 percent of payments in Pakistan are made in cash. jahan 95% plus payments Pakistan mein cash payments hain
  38. He argues that cash should be made more expensive than cashless payments. cash has to be made more expensive than other than cash payments
  39. He says most bank branches in Pakistan have become cash management centres. hamare Pakistan ki majority bankon ki branchain jo hain wo basically cash management center ban gaye hain
  40. He says 25,000 QR merchants are active. 25 hazaar QR merchant active hain
  41. He says his organisation has 150,000 agents in Pakistan. hamare aaj Pakistan mein 1.5 lakh jo agent hain
  42. He says Pakistan has 16,000 bank branches but 200,000 agents. Pakistan mein branchain bankon ki sirf 16,000 hain magar agent jo hain wo 2 lakh hain
  43. He says his organisation pays about 250 million rupees in agent commission. taqreeban uh 25 crore ke qareeb rupaya sirf agent commission mein dete hain
  44. He says no cash-in fee is charged to the customer, but his organisation absorbs the cost. Cash in ke upar koi fees nahi hai jo hum customer se lete hain magar woh hum absorb kar rahe hain
  45. He says this costs his organisation 1.5 to 2 billion rupees a year. yeh saal ka dedh do arab rupaya to hamara ispe lag raha hai
  46. He says his organisation has given more than four million digital loans and has disbursed about 12 billion rupees so far. hum 4 million se zyada digital loan de chuke hain already aur takreeban 12 arab rupaya hum isme disburse kar chuke hain ab tak
  47. He says the digital loans are of small value, roughly up to 10,000 rupees. isme hum dete hain digital loan jinki value kam hai yani inki value roughly 10,000 rupaye tak hoti hai
  48. He says Telenor Bank is the parent entity and Easypaisa is a brand. Telenor Bank is the the mother entity. Right. EasyPaisa is a brand.
  49. He says people no longer need to come to a branch. Magar ab humne wahan yeh change kar di hai ke logon ko branch mein aane ki zaroorat nahi hai.
  50. He said two mutual funds would go live inside the Easypaisa app as early as the next month. as early as next month hamare do mutual fund on ho rahe hain EasyPaisa ki app ke andar
  51. He says the first product is a relatively basic money market fund. we are starting with a relatively basic product jo money market unka fund hai
  52. He calls payments a pillar that is his organisation's bread and butter. ek payment ka pillar hai jisme hamara bread and butter hai.
  53. He says lending is a very large use case for his organisation. Dusra lending ek bahut bada hamara use case hai.
  54. He says his organisation has opened its APIs on an open API platform for other partners. humne apne API's ko open kar diya hai on an open API platform for other partners
  55. He says the arrangement is called a mini program. Isko hum kehte hain mini program.
  56. He says two of the first four use cases are live and two are in the pipeline. hamare pehle char use cases mein se do live hain, do pipeline mein hain
  57. He says there is no new account opening and it is a single click. There is no new account opening. It's single click and you done.
  58. He says technology is not the barrier. Technology is not the barrier.
  59. He says his organisation is working on building a developer ecosystem in Pakistan. ek developer ecosystem hum build karne pe kaam kar rahe hain Pakistan mein
  60. He says full digital KYC is now available in Pakistan. Ab woh complete digital KYC aa gayi hai Pakistan mein.
  61. He says the Raast fast payment system is now available in Pakistan. fast payment system jisko Raast kehte hain Pakistan mein woh bhi aa gaya hai
  62. He thinks the fundamentals of the digital payments stack are in good shape. I think we got the fundamentals are in good shape.
  63. He projects that about 100 million Pakistanis will use digital payments within four years. agle 4 saalon mein Pakistan mein 10 crore log jo hain woh digital payment use kar rahe honge
  64. He says most Pakistanis will own a smartphone within three years. majority Pakistanis will own a smartphone within the next uh 3 years
  65. He sees Pakistan becoming a much more financially inclusive society within five years. will be a much more financially inclusive society in 5 years time is what I see.
  66. He says Pakistan's median age is 22. Pakistan ki median age jo hai woh 22 saal hai
  67. He says Pakistan will be a transformed country by 2050. Pakistan will be a transformed country in 2050.
  68. He says young Pakistanis will decide the country's future. So I think it all depends on what the young Pakistanis decide to do with their own future.
  69. He describes a market where growth means taking share from others as a zero-sum game. is zero sum game jisko kehte hain na ki agar aapne grow karna hai toh kisi se market share cheenna padega
  70. He says his father was a career banker who gave him a credit card in fifth grade. my father was a career banker and he gave me a credit card when I was in 5th grade.
  71. He describes himself as a tech lover and an early adopter. I am a I love tech and I want ke main kam az kam as an early adopter