Pakistan must build, not just consume, fintech: Bilal Bin Saqib

November 03, 2026 (MLN): Pakistan must shift from being a consumer of global financial technologies to an active contributor to the infrastructure, standards and innovation that will define the future of finance.

Minister of State and Chairman of the Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (PVARA) Bilal Bin Saqib made these remarks while speaking at the PBA-LUMS Dialogue on Digital Assets and the Future of Banking, during a fireside conversation titled Partner, Competitor, or Bystander? with Zafar Masud, Chairman of the Pakistan Banks’ Association (PBA) and President and CEO of Bank of Punjab, according to a press release issued.

He urged banks to build deeper partnerships with universities, researchers, engineers and emerging technology companies, and said Pakistan’s progress in digital assets should be judged by real economic outcomes, not by events held, MoUs signed or announcements made.

He said Bitcoin was only the front door and that the bigger change lies in the technology behind it, which is reshaping how value moves, how financial assets are held and how capital reaches businesses.

He pointed to developments at JPMorgan, HSBC, Standard Chartered and other international institutions, saying digital assets are increasingly being integrated into institutional payments, treasury management and capital markets.

He added that the real opportunity is not to give Pakistanis more assets to trade, but to help more of them build assets, businesses and wealth.

Bilal Bin Saqib said that when correspondent banking arrangements and major payment networks took shape, Pakistan largely became a user of systems designed elsewhere.

He said digital assets, tokenisation and artificial intelligence now give the country a chance to take part earlier in building new financial capabilities.

The question before Pakistan, he said, is whether it wants to keep renting its future or help build and own it.

He clarified that technological independence does not mean replicating every international network, but developing the talent, institutions and technological capabilities to shape the systems the country depends on.

Turning to Pakistan’s $41.6bn in annual remittance flows, he highlighted the growing importance of cutting the cost of international transfers, saying changing economics have made the search for more efficient financial infrastructure increasingly important for banks.

He identified supervised, bank-led payment arrangements involving major Gulf remittance corridors as an opportunity worth examining, subject to regulatory coordination and appropriate safeguards.

The goal, he said, is not to move tokens faster but to ensure more of an overseas Pakistani’s hard-earned money reaches the intended family.

Bilal Bin Saqib encouraged bank presidents to build partnerships with universities, researchers, engineers and emerging technology companies, saying banks should become launchpads for innovators rather than just customers of innovation.

He suggested banks could give Pakistani founders access to real business problems, technical expertise, mentorship and a chance to test and demonstrate useful solutions within appropriate safeguards.

He said that if every major Pakistani bank helped incubate the next generation of fintech builders, the country would be building companies capable of exporting technology rather than importing it.

He also said artificial intelligence is changing how financial services are developed, delivered and secured, citing its growing use in fraud detection, risk management, customer service, software engineering and operational efficiency.

He said AI is changing what a small team can build, while new financial infrastructure is changing how that team can reach customers, capital and global markets, and that Pakistan must bring the two together.

He urged banks to invest in AI capabilities, develop their existing workforce and strengthen collaboration with universities such as LUMS, saying the greatest opportunity is to produce the people who can build the technology.

The PVARA chairman stressed the importance of coordination between PVARA, the State Bank and other relevant regulators within their respective statutory mandates.

He said new technologies must be adopted alongside effective supervision, cybersecurity safeguards, consumer protection and institutional accountability.

Looking ahead, he said the next phase of Pakistan’s digital asset journey must be measured by how many Pakistani businesses grow, how many financial problems are solved and how much capability is built within the country.

Addressing students and young professionals at LUMS, Bilal Bin Saqib recalled that he has been involved in digital assets since 2016.

He asked why the next globally significant financial technology company should not come from Lahore, Karachi or Islamabad, and why it should not start with a student in the room, backed by a Pakistani bank and employing Pakistani engineers.

He said the current generation has the chance to help build the systems of tomorrow, adding that he wants Pakistanis to help build the future of finance rather than simply consume it.

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