Easypaisa built a bank out of phone shops, cash counters and trust. Where does it go next?

There is a strange irony at the heart of the Telenor story. If Telenor succeeds in selling its 55% stake in Easypaisa Digital Bank, the Norwegian telecom giant may ultimately be remembered in Pakistan not for the telecom company it built, but for the bank it created.

That is not how the story began. When Telenor entered Pakistan in 2004, it came as a telecom operator. The Norwegian company had years of proven success in the field. The objective in Pakistan was straightforward: build a network, acquire subscribers and establish a position in one of the fastest-growing mobile markets in the world.

For years, that is exactly what happened. Telenor invested heavily in network expansion, distribution and customer acquisition. Alongside Mobilink, Ufone, Warid and later Zong, it was part of a telecom industry that expanded mobile connectivity across the country.

Over time, however, Telenor executives began exploring an adjacent problem. Mobile phone adoption was increasing rapidly, but access to formal financial services remained limited. In many parts of the country, telecom networks reached customers who had little interaction with the banking system.