Experts view: why Pakistani fintechs struggle to scale internationally

Economic nationalists and tech experts have shared pragmatic approaches how Pakistani fintechs can scale up their business internationally i.e. what they are missing today and why they are not becoming unicorn.

Talking to Business Recorder, a board member of eight entities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) Qaiser Noor said Pakistani financial technology companies had strong domestic traction, yet few scale internationally or reach unicorn valuation.

“The constraints are structural rather than purely entrepreneurial.”

While illustrating his views about bolstering up businesses internationally, Noor said the market size and revenue ceilings were limited.

“Pakistan has over 120 million adults, but digital payments usage remains below 40%, and average revenue per user is among the lowest in Asia. Most companies generate less than 5 dollars per user per year, compared to more than 50 dollars in markets such as India and Indonesia. This restricts valuation expansion.”

Secondly, he continued, “capital depth is insufficient”.

“Venture funding into Pakistan peaked near $350 million in 2021, then fell by more than 60% by 2023. In contrast, India consistently attracts more than $10 billion annually. Late stage capital, which is essential for international scaling, is largely absent.”

Noor further emphasised that regulatory exportability in Pakistan was weak.

“Many Pakistani platforms are built around domestic payment rails and local compliance rules. They are not designed for cross border licensing, data localisation requirements, or multi-currency settlement, which limit entry into the Gulf Cooperation Council, Southeast Asia, and Europe.”

Also read: Fintech revolution: Pakistani startups push beyond borders to capture global clients

According to Noor, global go to market capability is missing in Pakistan, as he believes successful unicorns invest early in international leadership, partnerships, and compliance infrastructure.

“Pakistani founders often remain domestically focused and expand too late. They need to scale up their international leadership.

“Eosystem signaling is weak. Global investors back markets with repeated exits and large listings. Pakistan has seen very few billion dollar technology exits, whereas companies such as Stripe scaled early through global regulation ready products and deep institutional funding.

“To create unicorns, Pakistani financial technology companies must design globally from day 1, raise larger regional funds, align with international regulators, and target higher value enterprise and cross border use cases rather than low margin domestic volumes,” Noor said.

Pakistan’s fintech sector has demonstrated strong early momentum, yet scaling internationally and producing unicorns remains a challenge. With over 450 fintech startups raising approximately $390 million in cumulative funding, Pakistan still lags behind regional peers in producing globally scaled fintech champions, according to Omair Ansari, CEO and Co-founder at ABHI.

“The challenge is not a lack of innovation, but limited global scalability by design. Many fintechs are built to solve local problems without embedding cross-border compliance, international payments infrastructure, or multi-market regulatory readiness from day one,” he said. “Expansion beyond Pakistan often requires costly rebuilds rather than seamless replication, even as digital channels now process 88% of retail transactions.”

He mentioned that another key constraint was capital depth and investor risk appetite.

“While fintech remains one of the most funded startup sectors in Pakistan, annual funding volumes are small compared with regional ecosystems. For example, Singapore dominated with 84% of regional inflows, capturing $725 million across deals in payments, insurtech, and AI-driven assets, while Pakistan attracted just $52.5 million in the first half of 2025.”

“In the same period, Southeast Asia saw $1.4 billion in fintech investment,” he further said. “Macroeconomic volatility, currency depreciation, and shorter funding runways further restrict long-term growth, a critical factor for achieving unicorn-level scale.”

ABHI CEO pointed out that Pakistan’s fintech ecosystem was still maturing in enterprise partnerships and embedded finance models. Globally successful fintechs scale by embedding themselves into payroll, supply chains, and platforms, not just consumer acquisition, according to Ansari.

“At ABHI, we focus on compliance-first, infrastructure-led solutions that can operate across geographies. With regulatory alignment and global-ready products, Pakistani fintechs are positioned not just to compete, but to define the next generation of inclusive financial infrastructure,” he further said.

Also read: Pakistani fintech Neem secures Pre-Series A funding from Epic Angels, global investors

Computer Society of Pakistan Chairman and Ovex technologies Pakistan Executive Director Tahir Mahmood Chaudhry was of the view that Pakistani financial technology firms could grow beyond local borders by first fixing three core gaps including capital depth, regulatory clarity, and talent-cum-infrastructure. “About 47% of the population lacks internet, and brain drain reduces skilled engineers, while low digital literacy limits user adoption.”

To become unicorns, Chaudhry suggested, firms must attract larger Series B/C rounds (fifty to one hundred million dollars), secure cross‑border licences, and partner with regional banks to tap markets such as the Middle East and North Africa.