Armughan Ahmed Kausar, Head Konnect - HBL (seated 1st from left), Muhammad Salman Ali, CEO - VRG (seated 2nd from left), and Omar Aijaz, Head of Partnerships - Easypaisa (seated 3rd from left), along with Muhammad Arif Khan, Deputy CEO - VRG; Hassham Mansoor, COO - VRG; Aamir Hameed, Head Branchless Banking - HBL; Syed Irfan Ali, Executive Director ACFID - SBP; Abid Qamar, Director ACFID - SBP; Muhammad Imran Khan, Assistant DAirector ACFID - SBP; Umair Ahmad, Assistant Director ACFID - SBP; Malik Jibran Tariq, Assistant Director ACFID - SBP; and Waqar Muhammad, Assistant Director ACFID - SBP, present at the signing ceremony for Agent Interoperability at State Bank of Pakistan.

Agent Interoperability Signing Ceremony

Karachi, January 15, 2025

Virtual Remittance Gateway proudly announces the signing of a historic agreement for Agent Interoperability, between Virtual Remittance Gateway, HBL Konnect, and Easypaisa, in the presence of senior officials from the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP). This momentous occasion marks a significant milestone in the evolution of branchless banking in Pakistan, setting the stage for enhanced financial inclusivity and innovation. The partnership will play a pivotal role in achieving SBP’s vision of a digital financially inclusive Pakistan by promoting innovation and collaboration among financial institutions and their agents.

The agreements inked during the ceremony at SBP represent a significant step toward financial inclusion using an interoperable agent network. The collaboration envisions developing integrations and piloting the solution to test its viability in terms of technical, operational, and business aspects. Based on the pilot results, the solution will be scaled up on a commercial basis with enhanced participation.

By connecting the agent networks of various financial service providers, the cutting-edge VRG’s Interop Switch seeks to establish a unified interoperable agent platform that enables users of any bank to conduct both financial and non-financial operations on any bank’s agent network. The interop switch will present HBL and Easypaisa with unmatched chances to broaden their services nationwide, serving both urban and rural communities. This would guarantee that millions of Pakistanis, wherever they may be, may have a secure, effective, and safe banking experience by drastically lowering obstacles to financial inclusion like accessibility and convenience.

The interoperable Agent platform has many benefits for the users but is not limited to the disbursement of government grants, bill payments, credit services, and micro-insurance services. Further, the Interoperable Agent platform will maximize economic opportunities for women and others in rural and underserved communities while addressing the financial inclusion gender gap and sees strong potential to leverage agent networks for much greater outreach and impact.