VISA to introduce new card to boost domestic transactions in Pakistan

WASHINGTON: Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue, Muhammad Aurangzeb, concluded his visit to Washington D.C. by attending the Annual Meetings of the World Bank Group and IMF, where he met with several key officials to discuss Pakistan’s economic development and partnerships.

Aurangzeb met with Andrew Torre, Regional President for Visa, and appreciated Visa’s efforts in modernizing Pakistan’s payments ecosystem, particularly its support for domestic payment players like 1Link and its work on financial inclusion and entrepreneurship.

They agreed on the need for more routing choices and a level playing field for domestic transactions. Visa’s launch of the Financial Inclusion Card with Meezan Bank was also welcomed.

The Finance Minister also met with Liao Min, the Vice Minister of Finance, in China, reaffirming the strategic cooperative partnership between Pakistan and China. He thanked China for its support in securing the IMF’s Extended Fund Facility and expressed interest in learning from China’s economic reforms experience.

Aurangzeb welcomed BYD’s decision to introduce electric vehicles in Pakistan and signaled the intention to launch an inaugural Panda bond in the Chinese market to diversify financing.

Furthermore, Aurangzeb met with Mohammad Kallala, Global Head of Corporate and Investment Banking Business of Natixis, discussing opportunities to partner with Gulf investors, particularly from Saudi Arabia, to provide financing for investments in Pakistan.

Kallala expressed interest in partnering with leading Pakistani companies to facilitate investments.

Aurangzeb also met with Karan Bhatia, Vice President and Global Head of Government Affairs and Public Policy of Google, who shared Google’s plans for deepening investment and economic contributions in Pakistan.

The Finance Minister assured full support and discussed exploring the possibility of issuing a panda bond with a partial credit guarantee of AIIB.

In addition to these meetings, Aurangzeb interacted with Pakistani diaspora leaders, appreciating their contributions to economic ties between Pakistan and the U.S., and briefed Pakistani media correspondents on socio-economic developments in Pakistan.