Before going for discussing the online payment gateways available in Pakistan, it is important to get the proper idea of what actually payment gateway is? A payment gateway is basically like middle-man service provider that accepts the payments for online activities like e-commerce, e-business, online retailing, online shopping, online bill payment and all type of bricks and clicks. It offers the customers to set the list of merchandise and online service providers to automatically process debit/credit card and another type of payments.
The overall concept can be better understand via the following image:
Here we will discuss both channels that are working from foreign to inside country and those that are working locally.
Online Payment Gateways in Pakistan (Local)
EasyPay is a product of EasyPaisa accepting online payments in Pakistan through EasyPaisa channels, and it is first of its kind in Pakistan. It allowed receiving payments through EasyPaisa initially, i.e., EasyPaisa wallet account or via EasyPaisa outlets. EasyPay has now support for Visa and MasterCard payments thus online sellers have the ability to accept debit and credit card payments on their websites with this service.
| Bank | Setup Fee | Recurring Fee per Year | Transaction Fee | Merchant Discount Rate | Settlement Period |
| EasyPay (Telenor/TMFB) | None | None | None | 1% EasyPaisa, 2% EasyPaisa Shop, 3% Credit Card | Instant for EasyPaisa, Overnight for EasyPaisa shop, 3 Business Days for Credit Card |
| HBL | Rs. 40,000/- | Rs. 40,000/- | None | 2.5% | 14 Working Days |
| MCB | Rs. 50,000/- | Rs. 48,000/- | Rs. 15/- | 2.8% | Not specified |
| UBL | Rs. 40,000/- | Rs. 50,000/- | None | 3.5% | 10 Business Days |
- Recently launched MCB Debit Card and Allied Bank PayPak Debit Card can also be used for online shopping and payments.
- Bank Alfalah is also offering MasterCard Internet payment Gateways services in Pakistan.
- JazzCash is also a simplest way to make and receive online payments in Pakistan.
Online Payment Gateways in Pakistan (International)
The most popular online money transfer services are Western Union, Ria Money Transfer, TransferWise and Xoom and some others that ensure the safe transfer of money to Pakistan.
| Transfer Method | Fee for $1000 | Hidden Currency Conversion Charges | Total Cost | Transfer Time |
| Western Union (fast) | $20 | $24 | $44 | minutes |
| Western Union (slow) | $0 | $24 | $24 | 3-5 days |
| Ria Money Transfer(fast) | $15 | $4 | $19 | minutes |
| Ria Money Transfer(slow) | $5 | $4 | $9 | 3-5 days |
| TransferWise | $10 | $0 | $10 | 3-5 days |
| USForex | $0 | $10 | $10 | 1-2 days |
| Xoom | $5 | $16 | $21 | minutes |
| Pakremit | $0 | $23 | $23 | 3-5 days |
| MoneyGram | $13 | $15 | $28 | minutes |
| Payoneer | $3 | $28 | $31 | 3-5 days |
| XE Trade | $0 | $32 | $32 | 3-5 days |
| Wire Transfer | $25 – 45 | $10 – 40 | $35 – 85 | 3-5 days |
| Skrill | $14 | $50 | $64 | 3-5 days |
| Travelex | $0 | $100 | $100 | minutes |
Here is the table for charges for sending money to Pakistan from European and western countries
| Transfer Method | From the US | From the UK | From Canada | From Western Europe | From Australia |
| Western Union | 2.4% | 0.9% | 0.8% | 0.9% | 1.2% |
| Moneygram | 2.8% | 4.3% | 2.5% | 5.3% | 3.9% |
| TransferWise | 1% | 0.5% | N/A | 0.5% | 0.5% |
| USForex, UKForex,CanadianForex, OFX | 1% | 1% | 1% | 1% | 1% |
| Ria Money Transfer | 0.9% | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Xoom | 2.1% | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Wire Transfer | 2 – 4% | 2 – 5% | 2 – 5% | 2 – 5% | 3 – 6% |
| Skrill | 6.4% | 6.4% | 6.4% | 6.4% | 6.4% |
| Xend Pay | N/A | 0.5% | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Azimo | N/A | 0.3% | N/A | 0.4% | N/A |
| Pakremit | 2.3% | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Travelex | 10% | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Payoneer | 3.1% | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| XE Trade | 3.2% | 3.2% | 2.5% | 3.1% | 3.3% |
Some other money transfer services
- Torfx
- Ukforex
- Currencies Direct
- World First
- MoneyCorp
- Smart Currency Exchange
- The FX Firm
- Currency Solutions
