PayPak


PayPak is a Pakistani domestic payment scheme launched by 1Link under the State Bank of Pakistan Vision 2020. Currently, 20 of the country's banks have adopted it. The reason to launch this domestic payment scheme was to save inter-change costs of International Payment Schemes. PayPak cards can only be used on ATMs & POS Terminals throughout Pakistan and are yet to be enabled for online transactions.
The new payment scheme aims to compete in the domestic market with other international payment schemes like Visa, MasterCard & UnionPay.

Technology & License

PayPak uses the Gemalto's product PURE. PURE is an off-the-shelf payment application from Gemalto that is fully compliant with the EMV™ standard. It is designed for domestic schemes and private payment card associations looking for chip-based security and fast time to market. PURE is also a scheme-agnostic EMV application that private-label card issuers and national payment associations can use without the need to enter into a business agreement with another payment scheme.

Market Share

The uptake of the payment scheme has been slow. As of April 2019, 1.5 million PayPak cards have been issued - representing 3.5% of the 41.9 million payment cards issued in the country.