Pakistan’s banking sector is rapidly moving toward digitalization but accessing basic services like obtaining corporate credit cards is unfairly difficult.
The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) recently signed agreements with Askari Bank Limited and NayaPay to streamline corporate account opening. Earlier, similar arrangements were also signed with Mobilink Microfinance Bank Limited, Easypaisa Bank Limited, Mashreq Bank, and Raqami Islamic Digital Bank Limited.
However, business owners (mostly private companies) say the ground reality remains different from what is advertised. “Accounts do get opened eventually, but documentation requirements are extremely heavy. Delays happen, and they stop picking your phone call,” a senior investor based in Karachi told ProPakistani.
“Launching corporate credit cards requires big investment, but bank revenue is limited compared to individual credit cards,” he said.
Naturally, opening a corporate account can still take weeks in Pakistan, which obviously delays payments before businesses even reach the stage of applying for corporate credit cards. More specifically, today’s corporate credit cards lack proper reconciliation and integration with company accounts which limits their usefulness for businesses.
While consumer credit cards are widely available across the country, corporate credit cards remain limited in practice. “It’s much easier to obtain a credit card as a private individual. Getting a corporate card approved is far more complicated for businesses and perhaps even AOPs,” the banker further explained.
He explained that the practice isn’t intentional. “The market is tiny, with likely fewer than 30,000 companies eligible. This makes it less commercially attractive for any bank. Can you blame us?” the banker added.
He also mentioned that corporate cards require more scrutiny, constant monitoring, and stronger compliance checks compared to retail/civilian credit cards.
Even as SECP pushes digital onboarding through partnerships with banks and fintech platforms, traditional banking practices continue to slow corporate access to financial services, he said.
“Askari Bank, Faysal Bank and Alfalah are the slowest,” the banker said. He briefly mentioned that his former employer Standard Chartered Pakistan is a bit better but still reluctant to fast-track issuance of corporate credit cards due to long queues at their branches in United Kingdom.
Pakistan has made huge progress in digitizing company registration and financial infrastructure. Regulatory reforms now promise paperless onboarding and faster business setup.
Some of the bankers have told us that unless banks fully align with these reforms to simplify corporate account opening and expanding corporate credit card issuance, Pakistan’s digital business transformation may remain incomplete.
For many startups and businesses today, the biggest hurdle is no longer registering a company. It is getting the banking system to move at the same speed.