YAP expands into Pakistan with EMI licence approval

United Arab Emirates (UAE)-based start-up YAP has been granted an in-principle approval from the State Bank of Pakistan for an electronic money institute (EMI) licence.

YAP aims to broaden financial inclusion in Pakistan

Following the launch of its digital banking platform in the UAE last year, YAP has set its sights on Pakistan’s fast-growing fintech landscape with the aim of serving the country’s underbanked population.

YAP Pakistan CEO Meharyab Niazi says the firm is “dedicated” to expanding into the underserved Pakistani fintech arena to increase financial inclusion.

“To achieve this goal, we will be rolling out several products that are fine-tuned and curated for our Pakistani audience,” Niazi adds, including an Urdu version of the firm’s app which is currently in development.

In particular, subsidiary YAP Pakistan hopes to address the challenges consumers face in the foreign remittance market, with Pakistan ranked sixth in the top 10 recipient countries of workers’ remittances globally.

YAP says from July 2021 to February 2022, a total of $11.2 billion was sent from Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, a political and economic union of Arab states bordering the Gulf, to Pakistan.

As well as remittance services, YAP Pakistan will offer users a digital account, an IBAN, a YAP Mastercard debit card and a PayPak card, spending analytics and notifications, bill payments, transfers and virtual cards.