APNA Microfinance Bank and PayPak have inked a deal after which the later will provide debit cards to the account holders of the bank enabling them to use ATMs for transactions.

The APNA Microfinance Bank account holders will be linked to a nationwide payment system comprising 33 commercial and microfinance banks.

PayPak is owned by 1Link, the country's first payment service provider which also links its customers to the global system of internet and mobile banking that includes Mastercard, Visa, Union Pay International and Japan Credit Bureau etc.

Speaking at the occasion, Chairman of APNA Microfinance Bank Mian Shahid said that the tendency of electronic payments is gaining momentum in Pakistan.

There were over 191 million transactions through ATMs and its usage is on the rise. He said that now our account holders will also be able to benefit from the internet and mobile banking and they will find an easy way to use or transfer funds and pay utility bills.

He informed that the services of PayPak are economical than other companies operating in the market which will benefit the people.

Pakistan has become the 28th country in the world to have its own domestic payment scheme and PayPak has issued 2.3 million debit cards with a monthly usage of almost Rs4.5 billion, he said.

© Pakistan Press International, source Asianet-Pakistan