In a world where finance and technology are increasingly inseparable, Pakistan finds itself at a defining moment. Globally, fintech has moved well beyond the initial waves of digitization. It now underpins entire economies, shaping how value is exchanged, safeguarded, and expanded. For banks, fintech is no longer an optional add-on; it is central to resilience, competitiveness, and customer trust.
Pakistan’s own financial sector has embraced this transformation unevenly but unmistakably. Over the last decade, mobile wallets, branchless banking, and open API frameworks have extended services to millions. Banks that once viewed fintechs as competitors now see them as collaborators in embedded finance, payments innovation, and compliance technologies. The State Bank’s pilot of a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), alongside regulatory moves such as a proposed Virtual Assets Act and the formation of a Crypto Council, underscores the sector’s shift from experimentation to structured adoption. For incumbents, this is both a challenge and an opening: to modernize legacy systems, align with global standards, and reimagine how banking products are delivered in a digital-first economy.
This backdrop makes the second edition of the Fintech Forward Forum, scheduled for September 23, 2025 in Karachi, particularly timely. First launched in 2023, the forum has become a key platform for high-level dialogue on Pakistan’s financial future. Programmed and developed by PakBanker, and hosted and organized by ITCN Asia, this year’s edition will once again convene regulators, bankers, technologists, investors, and innovators for a focused half-day of panels and lightning talks.
Unlike sprawling expos, the forum is designed to be sharp and forward-looking. Sessions will explore how payments and e-commerce are driving commerce, how digital health and insurtech can extend financial inclusion, and how banks must respond to new risks in cybersecurity and compliance. Lightning talks will spotlight frontier themes— virtual assets, CBDCs, crypto regulation, and AI in financial services—delivered in fast, concentrated bursts of insight.
For Pakistan’s banking community, the conversations are urgent. With regulatory tightening on the horizon, digital competition intensifying, and global investors increasingly focused on sustainable and compliant models, the need to align innovation with stability has never been greater. Banks, fintechs, and policymakers all share a stake in ensuring that Pakistan’s financial system is not only digitally enabled but also resilient, secure, and inclusive.
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Fintech Forward Forum 2025 takes place on September 23 in Karachi, hosted by ITCN Asia and programmed by PakBanker. For more information— or to register your interest in speaking, sponsoring, or partnering —visit ITCN Asia’s official page or DM us directly on the F3 LinkedIn Event Page.
https://www.linkedin.com/events/fintechforwardforum20257369246350250622981
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