Egyptian payments startup Paymob opens office in Pakistan

Paymob, an Egyptian digital payments company, has expanded its operations into Pakistan, with the goal of providing online, POS, and “Tap on Phone” payment options to Pakistani merchants.

Paymob is an infrastructure technology enabler that provides payment solutions to empower digital financial service providers through mobile wallet technology. It was founded in 2015 by Islam Shawky, Alain El Hajj, and Mostafa Menessy.

Paymob, which raised $18.5 million in a Series A round last year, has now launched in Pakistan, following rapid development in its home market of Egypt, as well as Jordan and Kenya, where it serves tens of thousands of merchants, including LG, Talabat, Uber, and Virgin Records, as well as SMEs.

Paymob feels there is a significant market opportunity in Pakistan. The country boasts a population of over 220 million people, and its cities are home to a variety of retail establishments and small companies. Over four million SMEs utilize just over 80,000 POS terminals and fewer than 3,000 e-commerce gateways, making it “ideally suited” to Paymob’s capacity to bridge the digital financial gap, as well as meeting the company’s criteria and strategy to expand further across MENAP and beyond.

Meanwhile, Pakistan is the world’s fifth largest market for freelancing, serving both local and foreign clients, despite a lack of local digital payment options. Individuals and microbusinesses can use Paymob to get payment links, soft POS solutions, and tools to manage payments and develop their businesses.

“We are very excited to be launching Pakistan. This comes as an essential step after our successful journey in leading the Egyptian payments landscape where we enable over tens of thousands of merchants with innovative financial solutions,” Shawky said.