Swedish firm Vopy to roll out payment service for Pakistani freelancers
Vopy, a portfolio company of Swedish investment firm Front Ventures, has secured a verbal order from a major digital bank in Pakistan to provide a freelance payment service.
'The order comes from one of the major digital banks that Vopy's management team visited in Pakistan, where the client wishes to launch the services as soon as possible,' read a press statement issued by Vopy on Monday.
The company said its freelance payments service is for payments to freelance consultants, usually in the IT industry, in Pakistan who carry out assignments for companies in Europe and the UK.
'Our customer in Pakistan is keen to launch this service quickly,' says Sven Hattenhauer, CEO of Vopy AB.
'They have requested exclusive rights to the service, which we have agreed to, and this results in a higher remuneration for us. Our customer has received a cooperation agreement for freelance payments, which we expect to be signed shortly, after which we can start the service without delay.
'We are happy and honoured by this collaboration, we look forward to delivering an exciting service to a new target group, also with higher margins than our other offerings,' Hattenhauer added.
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According to the press statement, the total volume of freelance payments to Pakistan amounts to approximately $4 billion per year.
Vopy noted that its client in Pakistan already has extensive services for freelance consultants and is expanding rapidly, but cannot offer fast and affordable invoice payments.
'Vopy's solution means that every freelance consultant in Pakistan receives a personal European virtual IBAN account to which payments can be made in a simple way.
'Through this arrangement, the European sender avoids the hassle of sending money directly to Pakistan and can instead pay into the European IBAN account Vopy provides, which creates a simpler process for the sender, and the money reaches the freelance consultant faster.'
The statement added that freelancers receive their payments to local Pakistani accounts within seconds after funds are received in the virtual IBAN account.
'The cost that the freelance consultant pays for the transfer is significantly lower than other available options. Thanks to this process, the freelance consultant increases his competitiveness by being able to offer his clients a very convenient payment option,' added the company.
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