Banks can play a critical role in poverty alleviation

• Banks may be able to play a critical role in poverty alleviation.
• It can happen by sustaining the expanding trends of digital banking and access to banking for the poor.
• Financial experts from the banking and technology sectors presented these perspectives.

By sustaining the expanding trends of digital banking and access to banking for the poor, banks may be able to play a critical role in poverty alleviation. During a discussion on “Visionary Banking in Pakistan,” financial experts from the banking and technology sectors presented these perspectives. During the World Economic Forum, Pathfinder Group of Companies, in collaboration with Martin Dow Group, hosted a discussion over lunch at the Schatzalp Hotel in Davos.

United Bank President Shazad Dada, Bank of Punjab President Zafar Masud, U Bank President Kabir Naqvi, CEO i3 Pathfinder Group Syed Tassawur Hussain, and CEO iPath Ali Shah Asani were among those in attendance, with CEO VRG Salman Ali moderating.

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Ikram Sehgal, Chairman of the Pathfinder Group, welcomed the attendees and introduced the eminent visitors. He claimed that technological improvements were causing Pakistan’s banking sector to flourish significantly. Ikram Sehgal, who emphasized the importance of digital banking and mobile wallets, referred to them as “the credit cards of the poor.”

Initiating a discussion on the banking industry’s role in Pakistan and its future, UBL President Shazad Dada stated that the banking sector is undergoing a revolution, and that digital banking is becoming increasingly popular not only in this sector but also in the national economy, where it plays a critical role.

During his presentation on “Visionary Banking in Pakistan,” Shazad Dada presented key figures with the audience. He claimed that in this technological age, modern banking was utilizing cutting-edge innovations such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT).

He also talked about the advantages and drawbacks of digital banking. According to the President of UBL, Pakistan is currently one of Asia’s top countries in terms of mobile banking, which is a major cause for the younger generation’s trust in digital banking.

Shazad Dada, when asked about financial inclusion and poverty alleviation, argued that banks may play a crucial role. The global pandemic had a tremendous positive impact on digital banking, which saw its usage skyrocket.

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Shazad Dada, speaking on UBL’s success on this occasion, said that the bank has recently emerged as one of Pakistan’s most profitable banks, thanks to the team’s tireless efforts.

The Bank of Punjab’s President, Zafar Masud, stated that it was critical to harmonize with traditions and culture in order to be successful in banking. A unique documentary on Pakistan was also presented on this occasion. He stated that in this technological age, the banking sector faces numerous obstacles, and that it is only through addressing these challenges that we will be able to realize the goal of visionary banking. Future banking, according to Zafar Masood, will be based on five pillars: consumer & community, strategy & branding, staff & environment, governance & compliance, operations & technology, and governance & compliance.

In a statement underlining the importance of microfinance in the national economy, Kabir Naqvi, President of U-Bank, said that microfinance institutions were doing everything possible to bring the underprivileged segments into the mainstream through financial inclusion.

He claimed that Pakistan’s telecom sector, in addition to playing a transformative role in the banking sector, had connected a large number of unbanked people to mainstream banking, which was a critical step in the country’s economic development.

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U-performance Bank’s during the last seven years, according to Naqvi, has been a success story, with branches established in distant corners of the country providing access to the most backward populations through contemporary technology.