Zong launches Digital Payment Solution “PayMax”

By Kalbe Ali
ISLAMABAD: Zong 4G, the fourth telecom provider in the nation, debuted its digital payments platform “PayMax” on Friday.

It has plans to soon offer nano loans as well as mobile device financing.

PayMax has been launched by Electronic Commerce Company Limited (ECCL), a 100 percent owned subsidiary of China Mobile Pakistan (CMPAK) the parent company of Zong4G.

PayMax has been launched after getting the Electronic Money Institution (EMI) License in Pakistan from SBP on March 2022.

Speaking at the launch Syed Naveed Akhtar, CEO, of ECCL said that PayMax is a digital financial application that will initially focus on delivering P2P Money Transfers, utility bill payments, mobile loads, online payment gateway, retail payments, etc.

It was highlighted that PayMax plans to onboard vendors and solution providers from across sectors to offer various financial products including nano loans, handset financing, cross-border payments, insurance, and merchant financing.

With an agent network of more than 43,000 retailers across Pakistan, Zone4G  Pakistan’s third-largest mobile service provider has more than 45 million subscribers.

The company is banking on its customer base especially in rural parts to target for PayMax. 

Initially, PayMax will cater to money transfer money, bill payment, and some others to any 1-Link connected bank.

This is the second fintech by Zong as it launched “Timepey Service” in the country in collaboration with Askari Bank in 2012, but the mobile-based banking solution was discontinued in 2016.

The current fintech by Zong is not backed by any bank, but it was based on Electronic Money Institutions (EMIs) regulations issued by the state bank in 2019, under the Payment Systems and Electronic Fund Transfers Act, 2007.

The EMIs are entities that offer innovative, user-friendly, and cost-effective low-value digital payment instruments like wallets, prepaid cards, and contactless payment instruments. e-money has played a crucial role in digitizing different types of payments in various countries.

Zong has already obtained the EMI license and relevant approval from the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) and other relevant departments.

Due to the large base of Zong4G and proper marketing, PayMax could be a key competitor to Jazz cash and Easy paisa, but these digital wallets bear the Branchless Banking License, which is stronger than EMI.

JazzCash was followed by Easypaisa, but Upaisa the mobile wallet launched by Ufone has a negligible subscriber base, despite the fact that Ufone was a base of more than 23.5 million customers.

UPaisa was launched as a joint venture between U Microfinance bank & Ufone launched in October 2013, but its low customer base was primarily due to a lack of attention by the PTCL Group and Upaisa offers limited options at the app- which are only money transfer and bill payment. 

The first mobile digital wallet was launched in the country in 2009, by the Telenor microfinance bank, and currently, Easypaisa has 28 million registered subscribers while having 11 million monthly active users.

Launched in 2012, three years after Easypaisa, currently JazzCash has become the largest mobile wallet with over 41 million subscribers, and its monthly active users are over 16.1 million.

Meanwhile, a senior official of Easypaisa said that these wallets are “telco agnostic” – which allows the subscriber of a mobile operator to register with any of the digital wallets even offered by the other mobile cellular operator.

The number of wallet users to have reflected the subscriber base of that mobile company, as  Jazz is the largest mobile operator with around 75 million subscribers, therefore JazzCash is the largest wallet service, followed by Telenor with around 49 subscribers.

Digital wallets play a significant role in bringing financial services to the unbanked population of the country, as well reduce cash handling and payments through physical mode