Payoneer’s 2019 Global Gig Economy Index ranked Pakistan as the 4th fastest growing freelance market globally, with a 47% increase in freelance earnings within the Payoneer network during the second quarter of 2019 as compared to 2018.
However, with only 21% of Pakistan’s population considered to be banked as per World Bank’s Global Findex 2017, Pakistan ranks low on financial inclusion. The non-availability of favorable financial/banking arrangements make bank account opening a cumbersome process for freelancers who face difficulties in providing required documentation that shows valid income streams generated through employment or entrepreneurship.
Pakistani freelancers without bank accounts are thus unable to use cross-border payment platforms such as Payoneer and access the global freelance market and have to source work from local clients only. If freelancers choose to use third-party bank accounts to register on international payment platforms, the high fees imposed by intermediary account owners significantly cut into their net earnings.
MMBL’s JazzCash partnership with Payoneer has removed this major impediment faced by Pakistani freelancers. Instead of going through a cumbersome account opening process at bank branches or locating third party account owners, freelancers can open JazzCash Mobile wallets in a matter of minutes over a basic feature phone or a smartphone and link it with their Payoneer accounts.
The partnership has provided Pakistani freelancers with the back-end financial infrastructure needed to immediately receive cross-border payments from international clients. Low transaction costs and favorable exchange rates for MMBL JazzCash have also incentivized freelancers previously using traditional bank accounts to use mobile wallets and increase net incomes earned.
To date, more than PKR 4 billion ~ USD 25 million has been processed starting December 2019, with more than 100,000 freelancers having linked their Payoneer accounts with MMBL’s JazzCash.

https://www.mobilinkbank.com/

• Nationwide, Pakistan

• Youth
• Freelancers, unemployed, women, people with disabilities

MMBL's JazzCash initiative has played a pioneering role in the country as other financial institutions, banks, and mobile wallet operators in the country are also following similar footsteps to replicate similar solutions through integration with international payment platforms. Presently, a large bank in Pakistan has already replicated a similar solution and has entered into a partnership with Payoneer.

Pakistan has a large youth bulge. As per UNDP, Pakistan currently has the largest percentage of young people with 64pc of the total population below the age of 30. Jobs are scarce and frequent economic crises have led to systemic and chronic unemployment. Through this partnership, Pakistani youth can use their education and skills to enter the global freelance market and work for international clients to develop sustainable income streams and contribute towards a productive economy. More youth are now considering freelance as full- time employment and are training / acquiring necessary skills to work in the global market. The enabling ecosystem created by this partnership has spurred capacity building in the country and opened new avenues of gainful employment for Pakistani youth. All international payments received by freelancers through MMBL’s JazzCash are also contributing to the country’s foreign exchange reserves and ultimately towards strengthening the economy and financial literacy across the country.

As per Payoneer’s 2020 Freelancer Income Report, most Pakistanis under the age of 35 (90%) are opting to go into freelance work — more than the global average of 70%. As per a UNDP, 64% of the total population in Pakistan is below the age of 30 while 29% is between the ages of 15 and 29 years. Taken together these findings underline the growing importance of the freelance industry to Pakistan’s economy and the employment prospects it holds for the country’s youth. The partnership between MMBL’s JazzCash and Payoneer has created an Enabling Environment for the financially excluded Pakistani youth and freelancers who could previously not register on international payment platforms such as Payoneer and consequently, could not access the global freelance market directly. Their work was restricted to local clientele and markets. In the case of the few global platforms available to them, the high fees imposed by intermediaries would cut into their net earnings. Through this partnership, freelancers and youth have been financially enabled to operate on an international scale and promote Business and Employment opportunities.