Best Digital Transformation 2025: Mashreq
Mashreq launches full-service digital bank in Pakistan - earning our Best Digital Transformation Award.
Launching a digital bank in a new market is one thing. Exporting an entire digital banking platform to a country of 240 million people is something else entirely. Mashreq achieved precisely this in September 2025, with the commercial launch of its full-service digital bank in Pakistan.
This was the first international deployment of Mashreq's proprietary digital banking platform - a system originally built to serve its UAE customer base. Rather than licensing third-party technology or building a separate stack, Mashreq adapted its core digital infrastructure for the Pakistani market, retaining the speed and user experience that had made it one of the UAE's leading digital banks.
Pakistan presents both enormous opportunity and genuine complexity. The country has one of the world's largest unbanked populations, with over 100 million adults lacking access to formal financial services. Mobile penetration is high, internet access is expanding rapidly, and the State Bank of Pakistan has been actively encouraging digital banking through its licensing framework. Mashreq's entry was timed to meet this moment.
The platform offers a comprehensive suite of services - accounts, payments, transfers, and savings products - all accessible through a mobile-first interface designed for the local market. Mashreq worked with Pakistani regulators to ensure full compliance with local banking laws while maintaining the frictionless onboarding experience that characterises its UAE operations.
We awarded Mashreq for the ambition and execution behind this move. Digital transformation is often measured within a single market, but Mashreq demonstrated that its technology and operational model could scale internationally. The Pakistan launch was not a rebrand or a white-label arrangement - it was a genuine platform export, tested against the demands of a new regulatory environment, a different customer profile, and distinct infrastructure constraints.
Visit Mashreq to learn more.
Assigned by Sebastien Parker, Senior Research Analyst, Global Banking Monitor, October 2025
