Pakistan’s financial ecosystem is at a stage where collaboration between banks and fintechs is no longer aspirational, it is operationally unavoidable. As digital channels mature and customer expectations evolve, banks and fintechs are increasingly interdependent. Yet despite widespread acknowledgment of this reality, collaboration remains uneven in practice. Some partnerships accelerate quickly, delivering real outcomes. Others stall after promising beginnings, caught in cycles of delay and internal friction.
This divergence was examined in FinDialogue 2: Banking in the New Point O – Collaboration Over Competition, moderated by Atyab Tahir, where practitioners from across banking, fintech, and AI explored why collaboration succeeds in some institutions and struggles in others. The discussion revealed a consistent insight: collaboration is not constrained by intent or rhetoric, but by structural readiness and institutional mindset.
Breaking the Collaboration Barrier: How Structural Readiness and Partner Mindsets Shape Bank–Fintech Relationships in Pakistan
Rather than treating collaboration as a strategic slogan, the session focused on how it is actually constructed, or obstructed inside organizations. The experiences shared by Ali Imran (Meezan Bank), Haris Waheed (Covalent), Ahsan Mashkoor (C-Square Consulting), and Nadeem Shaikh (Neem) pointed to a critical distinction: institutions that deliver consistently have aligned workflows, clear ownership, and execution-oriented cultures, while those that struggle remain burdened by fragmented processes and legacy operating habits.
Banks That Deliver: Structural Readiness as an Enabler
A recurring theme was the difference between banks that treat partnerships as operational commitments and those that approach them as exploratory exercises. One speaker described experiences working with National Bank of Pakistan and Bank of Punjab, noting that both institutions were “extremely problem-solving oriented” and deeply engaged in ensuring delivery. The emphasis was not on prolonged deliberation, but on execution.
This delivery mindset manifests in practical ways. Commercial discussions move efficiently because internal stakeholders; product, compliance, legal, and technology are aligned. As the speaker noted, “as a partner, we were able to launch multiple use cases quickly even commercials were smooth.” Such smoothness signals institutional coherence. When teams operate within clear frameworks, partners spend less time navigating internal complexity and more time building solutions.
Technology maturity plays a central role here. Banks with modular systems, API-driven architectures, and disciplined documentation practices create predictable onboarding environments. Collaboration in such settings is repeatable rather than dependent on individual champions. Importantly, these capabilities do not emerge overnight. As was noted during the session, building this readiness took four to five years, underscoring that effective collaboration is the result of sustained investment, not quick fixes.
Why Some Institutions Remain Difficult Partners
The contrast becomes sharper when examining institutions where collaboration repeatedly slows down. As one participant put it bluntly, “many institutions are still a nightmare to work with. You can have a great conversation, but afterwards, everything slows down.” This pattern, strong initial engagement followed by operational stagnation is familiar across the ecosystem.
The causes are structural. Siloed teams operate with misaligned priorities. Product teams commit to timelines that technology cannot support. Compliance and legal functions encounter unfamiliar partnership models and extend review cycles. Legacy systems amplify these challenges, making even minor integrations resource-intensive and fragile. In such environments, execution becomes unpredictable.
Cultural factors reinforce these barriers. Some institutions continue to treat fintechs as vendors rather than collaborators, defaulting to risk avoidance rather than risk management. Responsibility is pushed outward, accountability becomes diffuse, and innovation remains trapped in strategy decks rather than deployed services. The result is not a lack of ambition, but a lack of operational coherence.
Mindset as a Catalyst for Collaboration
Beyond systems and structure, mindset emerged as a decisive differentiator. Institutions described as “problem-solving oriented” exhibit behaviors that prioritize delivery: flexible interpretation of process, early identification of blockers, and a willingness to adapt. Leadership plays a key role here. When collaboration is championed at the top, teams internalize delivery as a shared responsibility rather than a compliance exercise.
Mindset also shapes how institutions perceive time. In digital ecosystems, speed is strategic. Banks that recognize this adjust approval cycles, streamline coordination, and maintain steady communication throughout integration phases. Those that do not impose delays that erode partner confidence and competitive relevance.
Accountability further separates mature collaborators from struggling ones. Successful institutions assign clear ownership at each stage of the partnership lifecycle. Others allow tasks to drift between departments, creating ambiguity and friction. As highlighted during the session, institutions with “strong, consumable frameworks for partners” embed accountability into their operating model rather than improvising it case by case.
Collaboration as a Multilayered Discipline
The discussion challenged the assumption that technology alone determines collaboration outcomes. While technical capability is necessary, it is insufficient without alignment across operations, culture, and commercial strategy. Banks with advanced systems can still fail if internal coordination is weak. Conversely, institutions with moderate technology stacks can collaborate effectively if governance and workflows are disciplined.
Commercial clarity is equally critical. Revenue models, settlement mechanics, and risk allocation must be resolved early. When these elements remain ambiguous, technical progress becomes irrelevant. Institutions that excel codify these parameters into partner playbooks. Those that struggle negotiate them midstream, slowing execution.
The Four–Five Year Curve of Institutional Change
The observation that collaboration maturity evolved over four to five years offers a realistic lens on transformation. Institutional readiness develops through repeated cycles of partnership, feedback, and refinement. Early pilots expose gaps. Subsequent iterations formalize processes. Over time, ad-hoc engagement gives way to standardized frameworks.
This perspective also explains why gaps persist across the sector. Institutions that delayed modernization face longer transition periods. Without sustained leadership commitment, progress remains incremental. The banks that now collaborate effectively did not arrive there accidentally; they invested consistently until execution became embedded in their operating DNA.
From Selective Success to Systemic Readiness
The experiences shared during FinDialogue 2 illustrate why collaboration outcomes vary so widely across institutions facing similar market pressures. Those that thrive combine structural discipline, aligned incentives, and execution-focused cultures. Those that struggle remain constrained by fragmented workflows, legacy systems, and risk-averse habits.
As Pakistan’s digital financial ecosystem evolves, narrowing this gap becomes imperative. Collaboration cannot remain the domain of a few execution-ready institutions. It must become systemic. The path forward is clear: strengthen internal alignment, formalize partner frameworks, and cultivate mindsets that treat delivery as a strategic priority.
Collaboration is no longer optional. It is the foundation upon which digital innovation, customer experience, and competitive relevance will be built. Institutions that recognize this, and invest accordingly, will define the next phase of Pakistan’s financial transformation.
Breaking the Collaboration Barrier: How Structural Readiness and Partner Mindsets Shape Bank–Fintech Relationships in Pakistan
Pakistan’s financial ecosystem is at a stage where collaboration between banks and fintechs is no longer aspirational, it is operationally unavoidable. As digital channels mature and customer expectations evolve, banks and fintechs are increasingly interdependent. Yet despite widespread acknowledgment of this reality, collaboration remains uneven in practice. Some partnerships accelerate quickly, delivering real outcomes. Others stall after promising beginnings, caught in cycles of delay and internal friction.
This divergence was examined in FinDialogue 2: Banking in the New Point O – Collaboration Over Competition, moderated by Atyab Tahir, where practitioners from across banking, fintech, and AI explored why collaboration succeeds in some institutions and struggles in others. The discussion revealed a consistent insight: collaboration is not constrained by intent or rhetoric, but by structural readiness and institutional mindset.
Rather than treating collaboration as a strategic slogan, the session focused on how it is actually constructed, or obstructed inside organizations. The experiences shared by Ali Imran (Meezan Bank), Haris Waheed (Covalent), Ahsan Mashkoor (C-Square Consulting), and Nadeem Shaikh (Neem) pointed to a critical distinction: institutions that deliver consistently have aligned workflows, clear ownership, and execution-oriented cultures, while those that struggle remain burdened by fragmented processes and legacy operating habits.
Banks That Deliver: Structural Readiness as an Enabler
A recurring theme was the difference between banks that treat partnerships as operational commitments and those that approach them as exploratory exercises. One speaker described experiences working with National Bank of Pakistan and Bank of Punjab, noting that both institutions were “extremely problem-solving oriented” and deeply engaged in ensuring delivery. The emphasis was not on prolonged deliberation, but on execution.
This delivery mindset manifests in practical ways. Commercial discussions move efficiently because internal stakeholders; product, compliance, legal, and technology are aligned. As the speaker noted, “as a partner, we were able to launch multiple use cases quickly even commercials were smooth.” Such smoothness signals institutional coherence. When teams operate within clear frameworks, partners spend less time navigating internal complexity and more time building solutions.
Technology maturity plays a central role here. Banks with modular systems, API-driven architectures, and disciplined documentation practices create predictable onboarding environments. Collaboration in such settings is repeatable rather than dependent on individual champions. Importantly, these capabilities do not emerge overnight. As was noted during the session, building this readiness took four to five years, underscoring that effective collaboration is the result of sustained investment, not quick fixes.
Why Some Institutions Remain Difficult Partners
The contrast becomes sharper when examining institutions where collaboration repeatedly slows down. As one participant put it bluntly, “many institutions are still a nightmare to work with. You can have a great conversation, but afterwards, everything slows down.” This pattern, strong initial engagement followed by operational stagnation is familiar across the ecosystem.
The causes are structural. Siloed teams operate with misaligned priorities. Product teams commit to timelines that technology cannot support. Compliance and legal functions encounter unfamiliar partnership models and extend review cycles. Legacy systems amplify these challenges, making even minor integrations resource-intensive and fragile. In such environments, execution becomes unpredictable.
Cultural factors reinforce these barriers. Some institutions continue to treat fintechs as vendors rather than collaborators, defaulting to risk avoidance rather than risk management. Responsibility is pushed outward, accountability becomes diffuse, and innovation remains trapped in strategy decks rather than deployed services. The result is not a lack of ambition, but a lack of operational coherence.
Mindset as a Catalyst for Collaboration
Beyond systems and structure, mindset emerged as a decisive differentiator. Institutions described as “problem-solving oriented” exhibit behaviors that prioritize delivery: flexible interpretation of process, early identification of blockers, and a willingness to adapt. Leadership plays a key role here. When collaboration is championed at the top, teams internalize delivery as a shared responsibility rather than a compliance exercise.
Mindset also shapes how institutions perceive time. In digital ecosystems, speed is strategic. Banks that recognize this adjust approval cycles, streamline coordination, and maintain steady communication throughout integration phases. Those that do not impose delays that erode partner confidence and competitive relevance.
Accountability further separates mature collaborators from struggling ones. Successful institutions assign clear ownership at each stage of the partnership lifecycle. Others allow tasks to drift between departments, creating ambiguity and friction. As highlighted during the session, institutions with “strong, consumable frameworks for partners” embed accountability into their operating model rather than improvising it case by case.
Collaboration as a Multilayered Discipline
The discussion challenged the assumption that technology alone determines collaboration outcomes. While technical capability is necessary, it is insufficient without alignment across operations, culture, and commercial strategy. Banks with advanced systems can still fail if internal coordination is weak. Conversely, institutions with moderate technology stacks can collaborate effectively if governance and workflows are disciplined.
Commercial clarity is equally critical. Revenue models, settlement mechanics, and risk allocation must be resolved early. When these elements remain ambiguous, technical progress becomes irrelevant. Institutions that excel codify these parameters into partner playbooks. Those that struggle negotiate them midstream, slowing execution.
The Four–Five Year Curve of Institutional Change
The observation that collaboration maturity evolved over four to five years offers a realistic lens on transformation. Institutional readiness develops through repeated cycles of partnership, feedback, and refinement. Early pilots expose gaps. Subsequent iterations formalize processes. Over time, ad-hoc engagement gives way to standardized frameworks.
This perspective also explains why gaps persist across the sector. Institutions that delayed modernization face longer transition periods. Without sustained leadership commitment, progress remains incremental. The banks that now collaborate effectively did not arrive there accidentally; they invested consistently until execution became embedded in their operating DNA.
From Selective Success to Systemic Readiness
The experiences shared during FinDialogue 2 illustrate why collaboration outcomes vary so widely across institutions facing similar market pressures. Those that thrive combine structural discipline, aligned incentives, and execution-focused cultures. Those that struggle remain constrained by fragmented workflows, legacy systems, and risk-averse habits.
As Pakistan’s digital financial ecosystem evolves, narrowing this gap becomes imperative. Collaboration cannot remain the domain of a few execution-ready institutions. It must become systemic. The path forward is clear: strengthen internal alignment, formalize partner frameworks, and cultivate mindsets that treat delivery as a strategic priority. Institutions that recognize that collaboration is no longer optional, and invest accordingly, will define the next phase of Pakistan’s financial transformation.
Fintech Forward Forum 2025 took place on September 23 in Karachi, hosted by ITCN Asia and programmed by PakBanker.
The future of finance in Pakistan is being written, and this is where the story continues.
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