Umar Khan

Visa country manager for Pakistan and Afghanistan

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

Umar Khan is a country manager, Pakistan and Afghanistan at Visa. Khan took a job at Mobilink's call center to earn extra pocket money, and worked night shifts there while attending college. He then moved into fintech, which was then known as mobile money or branchless banking.

Early life and background

Khan was born and raised in the Middle East and lived there until high school. He attended the Pakistani embassy school, which he says had a robust extracurricular system, including sports and scouting. He says he was raised in a very multicultural society. He has two sisters and one brother, and his younger sister is a doctor. He says the women in his life have played a clear role in shaping him. [1]

Education

After high school, Khan returned to Pakistan and enrolled in an MBBS medical program. He left the program after three months because it was not what he wanted to do, and he told his mother so; she quickly agreed. He then switched to something else and, three months later, decided that was not what he wanted to do either. He then pursued a bachelor's degree in business administration. [1]

Career

Khan took a job at Mobilink's call center to earn extra pocket money, and worked night shifts there while attending college. He then moved into fintech, which was then known as mobile money or branchless banking. He was part of the team that launched EasyPaisa. [1]

Khan says he did this kind of work in Pakistan, in Eastern Europe in countries such as Montenegro, Serbia and Hungary, and as far as Myanmar. He has said he spent some time in Singapore and Thailand. In 2019 he came back and spent some time with EasyPaisa. He then went back to Jazz to run its government sales business for JazzCash, and then joined Visa. [1]

Visa

Khan says Visa operates in more than 200 countries, and he describes it as a network of networks. He says Visa's core belief is to uplift everyone everywhere by making payments and money movement easier. He also says the Visa network gives Visa and its partners a multi-layered fraud control system. [1]

Khan says Visa has launched tap to phone, also called soft POS, with some partners and has more in the pipeline. He says it is one of Visa's top priorities in Pakistan for the next year or two. In his description, merchants would not need a POS device, since they could accept payments on an NFC phone. [1]

She's Next

Khan says Visa is running the first Pakistan edition of a program called She's Next. He describes it as an entrepreneurship program focused on women entrepreneurs from any sector, and as more of an accelerator than an incubator. He says it includes a year-long mentorship supported and provided by Visa, and that it draws on assets that Visa has made available globally, such as a business model canvas. [1]

Khan says applicants must be residents of Pakistan. Women must hold at least 25% ownership of an applying business, and the business must operate in Pakistan, though it can serve any market. He says applicants should have annual revenue of about $5,000. [1]

Khan says Visa ran a survey called the SMB women digitization index before launching She's Next. He says 40% of respondents in a Visa survey hold the view that women cannot handle leadership. He also says 80 to 90% of women entrepreneurs in the survey know they need to upskill on cybersecurity. [1]

Khan says more than half of Visa's Pakistan office staff are women, and that women hold 30 to 35% of leadership roles at Visa globally. He says Visa has programs that support women returning to work after a career break. [1]

Views

Khan says digital payments in Pakistan have grown 200 to 300%. He describes Pakistan as a consumption-based economy, and says consumption is under pressure but acceptance of digital payments is growing. He cited State Bank data showing more than 100 million point-of-sale transactions, and says five digital banking licences have now been issued. [1]

Khan says that if equal numbers of women and men took part in the global economy, the impact could reach up to $30 trillion by 2028. He also says much of the impact women create is reinvested in their families, communities and businesses. [1]

Khan says he preaches that parents should guide children and let them find their own way rather than dictate a path. He says not all decisions made at a young age will work out. He says he has no complaints about life and sees a lot of promise in it. [1]

Timeline

2019
Came back and spent some time with EasyPaisa.[1]

Appearances

DateTitleWhere
2023-11-17 The $10,000 grant and why women are Pakistan's missing half Thought Behind Things

Frequently asked questions

Who is Umar Khan?

Umar Khan is the Country Manager of Pakistan and Afghanistan at Visa. His earlier career was in mobile money and fintech, and he was part of the team that launched EasyPaisa.[1]

What does Umar Khan do?

Umar Khan is the Country Manager of Pakistan and Afghanistan at Visa. He says Visa has launched tap to phone, also called soft POS, with some partners and has more in the pipeline.[1]

Where did Umar Khan study?

Umar Khan attended the Pakistani embassy school. After high school he returned to Pakistan and enrolled in an MBBS program, which he left after three months. He then pursued a bachelor's degree in business administration.[1]

Where is Umar Khan from?

Umar Khan was born and raised in the Middle East and lived there until high school. After high school he returned to Pakistan.[1]

Did Umar Khan help launch EasyPaisa?

Umar Khan says he was part of the team that launched EasyPaisa. He had moved into fintech, which was then known as mobile money or branchless banking.[1]

What companies has Umar Khan worked for?

Umar Khan took a job at Mobilink's call center, then moved into fintech and was part of the team that launched EasyPaisa. He went back to Jazz to run its government sales business for JazzCash, then joined Visa.[1]

What is She's Next?

Umar Khan describes She's Next as an entrepreneurship program focused on women entrepreneurs from any sector. He says it includes a year-long mentorship supported and provided by Visa, and that Visa is bringing it to Pakistan with HBL as a partner.[1]

What has Umar Khan said about digital payments in Pakistan?

Umar Khan says digital payments in Pakistan have grown 200 to 300%. He says consumption is under pressure but acceptance of digital payments is growing, and that he is fairly confident digital payments will keep going up.[1]

References

  1. The $10,000 grant and why women are Pakistan's missing half . Thought Behind Things , 2023-11-17.
Show the source passages (60 statements)
  1. Umar Khan is the Country Manager of Pakistan & Afghanistan at Visa. Umar Khan is the Country Manager of Pakistan & Afghanistan at Visa
  2. Umar Khan was born and raised in the Middle East and lived there until high school. So I was born and bred in the Middle East. I was there until high school.
  3. Umar Khan attended the Pakistani embassy school. Pakistani embassy school, yeah. So yes, I was at the Pakistani embassy school.
  4. Umar Khan says the embassy school had a robust extracurricular system, including sports and scouting. It had a robust extracurricular system, there was sports, you know, there were scouting programs, other programs.
  5. Umar Khan says he was raised in a very multicultural society. we were raised in a very multicultural society.
  6. After high school, Umar Khan returned to Pakistan and enrolled in an MBBS medical program. High school ke baad I actually came back to Pakistan and I was enrolled, I was going to medical school. I was enrolled in an MBBS program.
  7. Umar Khan left the MBBS program after three months because it was not what he wanted to do. so I spent three months in MBBS and I realized ke yaar yeh toh this is not what I want to do.
  8. Umar Khan then switched to something else and, three months later, decided that was not what he wanted to do either. And I thought maybe this is something that I want to do. So then I switched. Three months later, I realized ke this is also not something that I want to do.
  9. Umar Khan then pursued a bachelor's degree in business administration. So then I shifted gears and I jumped ship and then I did a bachelor's in business administration and I went to that track.
  10. Umar Khan told his mother the medical course was not what he wanted, and she quickly agreed. So I told my mother ke yeh toh nahi ho raha. This is not what I want to do and these so and so are my reasons. She bought into it fairly quickly.
  11. Umar Khan has two sisters and one brother, and his younger sister is a doctor. And so my younger sister then is a doctor and I have two sisters, the and one brother.
  12. Umar Khan says he preaches that parents should guide children and let them find their own way rather than dictate a path. I also preach and hope that more and more parents, which I think now they're doing, this this the the current generations are doing, is to help guide children and, you know, let them find their way versus dictating a path for them.
  13. Umar Khan says not all decisions made at a young age will work out. When you make your own decisions at a young age, I don't personally, I don't think you realize that not all decisions will work.
  14. Umar Khan says the women in his life have played a clear role in shaping him. So the women in my life have clearly played a role.
  15. Umar Khan took a job at Mobilink's call center to earn extra pocket money. there used to be a company back then which was called Mobilink, it's called Jazz now. They had decided to expand their call center. Right. And by sheer stroke of luck, I went there and I got a job because I needed I wanted extra pocket money.
  16. Umar Khan worked night shifts at the call center while attending college. So I would go to I would go there during the night shifts and go to college in the mornings.
  17. Umar Khan then moved into fintech, which was then known as mobile money or branchless banking. That helped me then switch to something called Fintech. Right. Which back then was I think known as mobile money or branchless banking.
  18. Umar Khan was part of the team that launched EasyPaisa. I was part of of of a big or a medium-sized team which comprised of people much smarter than I am who were responsible for launching EasyPaisa.
  19. Umar Khan says he did this kind of work in Pakistan, in Eastern Europe in countries such as Montenegro, Serbia and Hungary, and as far as Myanmar. I did this in Pakistan, I then did this in Eastern Europe in countries like Montenegro, Serbia, Hungary, Norway, from there all the way to Burma, Myanmar.
  20. Umar Khan has said he spent some time in Singapore and Thailand. Spent some time in Singapore, Thailand.
  21. Umar Khan says that in 2019 he came back and spent some time with EasyPaisa. And then in 2019, I came back and I spent some time with EasyPaisa.
  22. Umar Khan went back to Jazz to run its government sales business for JazzCash, then joined Visa. I went back to Jazz to run their government sales business for JazzCash and then from there to Visa.
  23. Umar Khan says Visa operates in more than 200 countries. Visa is a global company. They do this in 200 plus countries.
  24. Umar Khan says Visa's core belief is to uplift everyone everywhere by making payments and money movement easier. Visa the core believes that we want to uplift everyone everywhere by making payments easier, by making money movement easier.
  25. Umar Khan describes Visa as a network of networks. But essentially to describe Visa, it's a it's basically a network or a network of networks.
  26. Umar Khan says the Visa network gives Visa and its partners a multi-layered fraud control system. It is a big network which enables which provides connectivity, which enables multiple transactions which gives you and our partners a multi-layered fraud control system.
  27. Umar Khan says digital payments in Pakistan have grown 200 to 300%. there has been a 200 to 300% growth in terms of digital payments.
  28. Umar Khan describes Pakistan as a consumption-based economy. because we are a consumption-based economy
  29. Umar Khan says consumption is under pressure, but acceptance of digital payments is growing. kyunke consumption zara aapki is waqt under pressure hai, lekin jo appreciation aur acceptance of digital payments hai, woh grow kar rahi hai.
  30. Umar Khan cited State Bank data showing more than 100 million point-of-sale transactions. State Bank ki report ke mutabiq, you know, payment transactions jo hoti hain, jinko hum POS kehte hain, uh terminals pe, woh koi 100 million se zyada transactions hain
  31. Umar Khan says five digital banking licences have now been issued. Paanch digital banking license abhi diye hain
  32. Umar Khan says the State Bank has done a remarkable job with Raast. Raast is a very important eco ecosystem uh play. State Bank has done actually a remarkable job at it.
  33. Umar Khan says Visa has solutions that could complement Raast and is in active talks with its partners about them. We have some we have some solutions jo usko further compliment kar sakte hain. Uh, so we're in active conversation with them.
  34. Umar Khan says he is fairly confident that digital payments in Pakistan will keep going up. I am fairly confident given the initiatives we have planned for the market as an ecosystem, not just as Visa, that this is only going to go upwards.
  35. Umar Khan says Pakistan could capitalise on its IT export opportunity. this could be a country where we are able to capitalize on the opportunity which is in front of us in terms of IT exports.
  36. Umar Khan says literacy and financial literacy are a big factor in how consumers adopt digital payments. There's a big factor which is around literacy and financial literacy.
  37. Umar Khan says he has no complaints about life and sees a lot of promise in it. Life is all right, there are no complaints. There is a lot of promise to it.
  38. Umar Khan says Visa is running the first Pakistan edition of a program called She's Next. is the first edition of a program called She's Next.
  39. Umar Khan describes She's Next as an entrepreneurship program focused on women entrepreneurs from any sector. And She's Next is basically an entrepreneurship program completely focused on women entrepreneurs and from any part of the economy.
  40. Umar Khan says She's Next includes a year-long mentorship supported and provided by Visa. there's a year-long mentorship supported and provided by Visa to enable these businesses.
  41. Umar Khan describes She's Next as more of an accelerator than an incubator. So this is like a more like an accelerator than an incubator essentially.
  42. Umar Khan says Visa is bringing She's Next to Pakistan with HBL as a partner. hum Pakistan mein yeh karne ja rahe hain uh with one of our partners with our uh which is HBL.
  43. Umar Khan says She's Next draws on assets that Visa has made available globally, such as a business model canvas. uh assets jo ke Visa globally has made available, whether it is business model canvas
  44. Umar Khan says Visa has run She's Next in its region for a few years. yeh is region mein uh we've been doing this for a few years and this will be the first time we're bringing it to Pakistan.
  45. Umar Khan says the experience with She's Next has been very successful. I think the experience has been very interesting. It has been very successful.
  46. Umar Khan says Visa ran a survey called the SMB women digitization index before launching She's Next. humne Visa ne is program se related isse pehle ek ek survey karaya hai jisko hum kehte hain uh SMB women digitization, small medium business digitization index for women.
  47. Umar Khan says 40% of respondents in a Visa survey hold the view that women cannot handle leadership. there are myths that you know women will not be able to handle leadership or stressful situations when it comes to decision making. Uh, actually hum apne survey ko dekhein toh 40% uh respondents ka yeh khayal hai.
  48. Umar Khan says 80 to 90% of women entrepreneurs in the survey know they need to upskill on cybersecurity. almost 80 to 90% are aware that when they're accepting digital payments or putting businesses online, they need to upskill or improve their awareness around cybersecurity
  49. Umar Khan says She's Next applicants must be residents of Pakistan. So in terms of the criteria, so very straightforward criteria, the they must be, you know, residents of Pakistan.
  50. Umar Khan says women must hold at least 25% ownership of an applying business. Uh business jo hai usmein khawateen ki ownership honi chahiye, they must be leading it up to 25, at least 25% of the ownership.
  51. Umar Khan says an applying business must operate in Pakistan, though it can serve any market. it must operate uh in Pakistan. It can serve any market, but it must operate in Pakistan.
  52. Umar Khan says applicants should have annual revenue of about $5,000. Aur ek aakhri cheez yeh hai ke jo unka minimum annual revenue hai, woh $5,000 ke lagbhag hona chahiye.
  53. Umar Khan says more than half of Visa's Pakistan office staff are women. whether it is aap Pakistan office mein dekhein to hamari gender diversity is actually more it's 50/50, actually more than 50% in in favor of women.
  54. Umar Khan says women hold 30 to 35% of leadership roles at Visa globally. Ab leadership dekhein, na sirf is region ki, Semiya region ki, global, we have uh 30 to 35% representation of women.
  55. Umar Khan says Visa has programs that support women returning to work after a career break. Phir there are programs, you know, which uh support women when they come back to work after after a period of absence.
  56. Umar Khan says Visa has launched tap to phone, also called soft POS, with some partners and has more in the pipeline. aur woh humne bhi kuch uh partners ke saath launch ki hai, kuch ke saath pipeline mein hai is something we call tap to phone or soft POS.
  57. Umar Khan says tap to phone is one of Visa's top priorities in Pakistan for the next year or two. Uh it is one of our uh one of our top things to do in Pakistan for the next uh the next one year, 18 months, 24, 4 month period.
  58. Umar Khan says merchants would not need a POS device, since they could accept payments on an NFC phone. any merchant will not need to invest in a POS device, they would be able to use their NFC phone to accept payments.
  59. Umar Khan says that if equal numbers of women and men took part in the global economy, the impact could reach up to $30 trillion by 2028. if we assume or if we uh envision for a minute that equal number of women are participating in the global economy or, you know, starting from country level to global economy as men, to yeh 2028 tak koi up to 30 trillion dollar uh ka impact create ho sakta hai.
  60. Umar Khan says much of the impact women create is reinvested in their families, communities and businesses. a lot of that is reinvested back into their their families, their communities, their businesses.