Does Pakistan need a super app?

A Dawn commentary by the chairman of the Pakistan Fintech Network asks whether the country should build a super app that brings together messaging, payments, shopping and government services. The writer points out that Pakistani digital activity is still spread across WhatsApp, Easypaisa, JazzCash and Daraz, with Pak ID leading among government apps. In 2017 Jazz and Veon launched a super app that was later withdrawn, a project Profit said had cost more than $100 million.

The commentary argues that Nadra's identity infrastructure, the Raast instant payment rail and the Pakistan Digital Authority's digital public infrastructure could form the basis of a wider ecosystem. The writer warns, however, that a privately controlled super app could concentrate economic power and personal data in a single company, so a public-private model is preferred. Its suggested safeguards include collecting data only when necessary, obtaining explicit consent, keeping audit trails and verifying identity without exposing full personal records.

The writer concludes that Pakistan should not spend heavily trying to copy WhatsApp, and that the real aim is secure official communication, national digital rails and open competition among private firms. Whether any app succeeds, the writer says, will ultimately depend on consumers deciding whether switching is worth it.