KARACHI: Health, education, agriculture and media companies, regulatory bodies, the private sector and the general public at large need to collaborate to develop the overall digital ecosystem, Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) chairman Syed Ismail Shah said on Wednesday.

In line with the government`s vision for digital financial inclusion in the country, the PTA was serving more as a facilitator helping mobile operators transform themselves into digital service providers and creating awareness among the masses to capitalise on this opportunity for the betterment for all, Mr Shah said during his keynote address as the guest of honour in Digital Banking and Mobile Payments Summit 2017.

The PTA chairman also shared the regional comparison of data usage over theInternet and the surge observed in Pakistan followingthelaunchof3Gand4G technologies. He pointed out that near 90pc of the country`s population is covered in terms of mobile telephony.

Addressing the summit, Syed Irfan Ali, executive director of the State Bank of Pakistan`s (SBP) Banking Policy and Regulations Group, said, `Achievement of financial inclusion is the first and foremost objective of the government of Pakistan and the central bank.

SBP`s National Financial Inclusion Strategy has been set out to enhance the outreach of basic financial services to unbanked/undeserved segments and aimed to target 50pc growth in bank accounts by adult population by 2020, he said. Mr Ali said the State Bank was also working to introduce a separate category of digital bank which incorporates new and developing technologies throughout a financial services entity.

The summit was attended by over 400 delegates.

Speakers from across Pakistan, Europe and the United State attended.