Bank Alfalah is a top commercial bank that has received recognition for its digital excellence for four straight years from the Pakistan Banking Awards, and it has recently unveiled ‘Alfa Business – Merchants Payment Solutions’. The goal is to speed up digitization among millions of merchants throughout Pakistan. This program will assist merchants in transitioning from cash payments to digital transactions by incorporating them into a completely digitized and efficient system, aiding Pakistan in achieving a cashless economy.
Alfa Business fosters a varied merchant ecosystem and assists companies of all sizes in handling their daily transactions online. It provides digital payment acceptance, sales tracking for completed and pending transactions, receipt creation, invoicing, online bookkeeping via khatas, immediate Raast QR card issuance, and access to financing all in one location.
These services are additionally enhanced by Bank Alfalah’s ‘Digital Payment Centres’ located in key trading markets throughout Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad. The centers serve as walk-in payment locations for merchants transitioning to digital platforms, offering crucial financial services that support their payment operations. They assist in sustaining a steady cash flow and enable merchants to undergo digitization in a safe, convenient, and dependable manner.
“We must digitize commerce at the grassroots level for Pakistan’s economy to reach its full potential,” said Muhammad Yahya Khan, Chief Digital Officer at Bank Alfalah. Our goal with Alfa Business Merchant Payment Solutions is to give our merchants easy-to-use, safe financial solutions so they can quickly transition from cash to cashless transactions and grow their businesses.
Key features at Digital Payment Centres include:
- High-limit ATMs that allow withdrawals of up to PKR 1 million, available 24/7
- Cash Deposit Machines that accept deposits into any bank account in Pakistan available round the clock
- Digital Cheque Deposit Kiosks that provide instant credit of funds via cheque through AI-based scanning accessible all the time; and
- Merchants can also open and operate sole proprietor accounts on the spot without visiting a branch.
The Alfa Business App expands the use of digital payments by offering a single platform that brings together payment acceptance, business management and access to finance. Key features of the Alfa Business app include:
- QR payment acceptance for static, dynamic and omni QR payments, allowing merchants to scan with any smartphone camera.
- Request to Pay for instant or scheduled payment requests and secure collections.
- Digital khata management to record transactions, create vendor sub-accounts, generate itemised invoices and issue digital receipts.
- Business insights that provide tailored statements and transaction reports for better decisions.
- Instant financing that offers quick access to working capital based on transaction history with minimal documentation.
- Issuing prepaid bank card instantly to customers.
- Buy Now, Pay Later via QR, allowing customers to pay later while merchants receive instant settlement.
- Cheque Deposit Kiosk integration using AI to recognise cheques and give instant credit.
- Sole proprietor account opening that enables merchants to open accounts digitally and link them to their payment activity.