The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has informed the central bank that Careem Payment Solutions has revoked its authorization as an Electronic Money Institution (EMI). It is the second business after UK-based Checkout Limited. Which earned the banking regulator’s In-Principle Approval but subsequently dropped its proposal.
“We decided to cancel our request to obtain an IPA of an Electronic Money Institution license in Pakistan. As we are concentrating on growing our taxi services platform in Pakistan,” a Careem representative explained.
The compnay is still dedicated to making the everyday lives of thousands of Pakistanis easier. By making sure that both the passengers and the captains have access to the most flexible employment options. Additionally, Careem is collaborating with authorized partners to test out streamlined payments on the Careem app. This includes sending money to Pakistan from the UAE. The decision to drop fintech ambitions could be due to economic challenges and increasing online financial competition.
The ride-hailing service Careem, a leader in Pakistan have an extensive database of vehicles and clients. It is affiliated with Careem Payment Solutions, a fintech operator. 800,000 Captains, 3,000 merchants, and a total of more than 9 million clients of the business. They are all set to receive financial services using the same app.
The company also made a $50 million investment announcement in March 2022. When the news of its entrance into the fintech sector was announced. Services like peer-to-peer (P2P) transfers, wallet cash-outs, debit and credit cards, within international remittance services were among the plan. Also, additional services that might allow consumers and businesses to make and accept payments online or offline were among the services it planned to offer.
In order to focus on financial services and consolidate its ride-hailing services, Careem had earlier in the same year discontinued its food delivery operations in Pakistan.
The SBP listed 12 EMI/ fintech operators as legitimate businesses. These four businesses—NayaPay, Finja, SadaTech, and CEMPECC—all currently operate.
Wemsol, Akhtar Fuiou, and EP Systems are the three operators who have been given authorization to conduct pilot operations. In principle, Hubpay and YAP Pakistan were approved. The SBP terminated TAG Innovation’s first license. The licenses of Checkout and Careem Payment Solutions were also revoked.
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