SadaPay, a Pakistani fintech startup, has announced that it has raised $10.7 million in an extended seed round to provide financial services via its smartphone app as an Electronic Money Institution (EMI) after receiving a commercial license from the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).
The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) approved SadaPay’s commercial launch on Monday, allowing them to “onboard users in order of their queue position” as part of its public rollout.
“Sadapay is closing a $10.7 million seed extension as a result of its license approval. “This takes SadaPay’s total funding to over $20 million, making it one of Pakistan’s top five most funded businesses,” the company stated in a statement.
SadaPay, when contacted by Profit, refused to confirm the fundraising amount, citing investor worries over disclosing sensitive papers.
Prior investors Recharge Capital, Kingsway Capital and Raptor Group are all increasing their stakes to speed up the company’s rollout in preparation for raising Series-A funding later this year, according to the company.
FinTech SadaPay also claims to have over 500,000 people on its waiting list, which the company’s COO Omer Salimullah says will be a massive undertaking to complete. “Imagine the logistical challenge of printing and sending out 500,000 debit cards in a single day,” Omer says.
“We want to roll out accounts to our queue over several weeks to maintain the greatest levels of customer experience.”
SadaPay, which was founded in 2019 by American entrepreneur Brandon Timinsky, promises to simplify banking, which “may be scary to the typical Pakistani.” “Our objective is to make money so simple that any other method would be unimaginable,” Timinsky explains.
SadaPay claims that creating an account is simple and quick and that services such as bank transfers and cash withdrawals from ATMs across Pakistan are completely free.
“SadaPay can transfer its cost savings onto users to provide free financial services by leveraging contemporary technology and avoiding the high costs of managing physical infrastructure like traditional banks,” SadaPay claimed.
The startup generates revenue by providing value-added services. “For instance, when we assist freelancers in accepting international payments or when we provide payroll services to enterprises,” explains Tayseer Ali, the company’s CFO.
SadaPay intends to more than double its staff numbers to over 250 by the end of the year, as well as expand its offering with additional solutions for freelancers and small company owners, thanks to the fresh capital.
Image Credit: SadaPay
