PAKISTAN has seen the largest drop in its mobile ownership and mobile internet gender gaps this past year amongst all countries surveyed by the GSMA. Mobile devices and internet are increasingly pivotal in enabling access to a wide range of services and resources, including those related to healthcare, education and credit to name just a few. Hence, mobile and internet access is of both intrinsic and instrumental significance. Indeed, evidence from across the world shows that access to and use of digital platforms and spaces has been linked with improved economic opportunities and outcomes for women. In this, fintech and broader digital financial services have been a central intervention piece. Does the same hold in Pakistan too? And what are the key channels that we need to consider and perhaps reform, if we are to fully actualise the potential of fintech towards improvements for women?

Mobile wallets, banking apps and digital financial platforms have been operating in Pakistan for some time with the digital ecosystem expanding significantly in the past two decades. Notably, basic online banking began in the late 1990s, with 2009 witnessing the introduction of the country’s first mobile money platform, and Raast, with its real-time free digital transactions across the banking sector, being launched by the State Bank in 2021. These platforms have aimed to increase financial inclusion and digitise cash. Yet, the concern has not just been the general evolution and reach of the digital financial sector but the presence of women within........

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