Rapid development of the Internet, huge market potential

The game industry has huge potential, and there are many entrants from different countries

The average age of Pakistan is 22-23 years old, with a large number of young users, and the demand for games from young users is particularly strong. According to Pakistan's Minister of Science and Technology Ch Fawad Hussain, the domestic game market is as high as 90 billion. PUBG from China's Tencent has long dominated the top of the app market in Pakistan, while other Chinese game makers FunPlus' Kings of Avalon and Elex's Strife of Kings are also very popular there.

Entertainment applications are also very popular in Pakistan, such as the overseas Jitterbug TikTok (33 million users in Pakistan), which, unlike India where it is completely banned, can be taken down in Pakistan due to content issues, but can still be launched after rectification.

Electronic payment industry is growing rapidly

Like many South Asian countries, Pakistan's bank cards (debit and credit cards) are relatively low, with less than 0.5 cards per capita (6.01 cards per capita in China), and the banking coverage rate is not high. The majority of the population is still accustomed to using cash transactions, and online payments are in the initial stage of development, but are gaining momentum rapidly. According to research dmarkets, Pakistan's mobile payment industry is expected to grow at a CAGR of 20.7% to reach $53,917.6 million by 2025.

Pakistan has a large number of domestic banks, with five major banks (Habib Bank, National Bank, United Bank, Muslim Commercial Bank, Union Bank) having total assets and total deposits exceeding 50% of the overall banking sector, and currently over 20 million card payment owners across Pakistan, mainly concentrated in the middle class and geographically concentrated in the urban population.

Pakistan Carrier Payments relies on its domestic operators (mainly Mobilink, Ufone, Zong, Telenor) to fully cover its national territory with over 200 million people, which is particularly suitable for small order payments. Carrier payments are particularly important for users who only rely on cash payments and are often their main method of online payment, making it ideal for access to industries such as gaming, live streaming, and online literature.

With the popularity of smartphones, e-wallet payments have over 46 million users, with major e-wallets such as Easypaisa and JazzCash, both of which have 87% of the market share. There are also some e-wallets such as Upaisa, Payoneer, GoLootLo, UBL Omni, HBL Konnect and others with lower market share.

Easypaisa Pakistan's largest e-wallet, known as Pakistan's version of "Alipay" with more than 20 million users occupying 53% market share, is a digital payment method launched by telecom operator Telenor in Pakistan, and in 2018 received investment from Ant Financial Services, which has a very big technical advantage over other local wallets. Users can transfer and receive money securely and quickly, recharge their cell phones, purchase data traffic, shop online or pay utility bills through the mobile app. With over 70,000 offline recharge and withdrawal locations in Pakistan, E asypaisa is a solution to a certain extent for people without cards to transfer money, make payments and pay bills on a daily basis.

JazzCash (known as MobiCash until 2012) is an e-payment platform owned by Pakistani telecom giant Mobilink, which has a 34% market share of Pakistan's e-wallets and is the second largest e-wallet in Pakistan. Unlike easypaisa, the main users of Jazz Cash are mainly on feature phones, so if Chinese companies are highly dependent on smartphones, they have to consider the actual product coverage under the high user volume.

Chinese companies' access to Pakistani payment pain points

Unlike other mainstream overseas countries, Pakistan is classified as a high-risk area for banks and other financial institutions, and the Pakistani state itself has an extremely stringent system of foreign exchange control, which is a very difficult hurdle for overseas companies to cross. In addition, Pakistan's tax policy and access policy for foreign companies are not very clear, as evidenced by the previous incidents of some companies in its market. How to cross these barriers and minimize the risk of collection and disbursement in Pakistan has become a topic of concern for many companies.

At present, Tianic has already launched a local online payment collection and disbursement solution in Pakistan, which can handle online transactions in almost all major channels, including bank card payments, carrier payments (DCB payments include Mobilink, Ufone, Zong, Telenor major telecom carriers), e-money MAX is currently a licensed payment company supporting Chinese and As a licensed payment company, MAX is currently supporting businesses in China and other countries to quickly connect to Pakistani payment solutions, which is a quick answer to local payment challenges.