Mashreq, one of the Middle East and North Africa region’s leading financial institutions, has officially launched NEO BIZ in Pakistan — a dedicated digital banking proposition built for the evolving needs of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), sole proprietors and self-employed professionals. The launch marks a significant bet on Pakistan’s small business economy, which Mashreq describes as one of the region’s highest-potential markets for digital-first banking.
The numbers behind the bet are striking. Pakistan is home to roughly 7.14 million micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, which contribute nearly 40 per cent of GDP, 30 per cent of exports and employ more than 80 per cent of the non-agricultural workforce. Yet access to formal financing remains limited: as of December 2025, outstanding SME financing stood at approximately PKR 882 billion — a large figure that still leaves much of the sector underserved.
NEO BIZ is positioned to close that gap by making banking something a small business can do entirely on a screen. The proposition brings together digital business banking, payments, collections and a growing set of value-added services in one integrated ecosystem, letting eligible businesses open and manage accounts digitally and cutting the need for branch visits. On its roadmap are business debit and virtual cards, payroll solutions, invoice-based payments, transaction analytics and bookkeeping tools — the everyday financial plumbing that small firms usually patch together from several providers.
Fernando Morillo, Mashreq’s Group Head of Retail Banking, said digital-first banking models had shown across the bank’s international markets how they can transform business operations, improving efficiency, transparency and access to financial services. He described NEO BIZ as a combination of strong commercial capabilities and a scalable platform designed for SME needs, calling Pakistan a high-potential market for the bank’s global business banking proposition.
From the local side, Muhammad Hamayun Sajjad, CEO of Mashreq Bank Pakistan, framed the launch as a response to a dynamic but under-served market, with significant gaps in access, awareness and digital capability among Pakistani SMEs. The platform, he said, is built for the realities of this market — simplifying banking, reducing dependence on physical channels and growing alongside businesses as they expand.
Looking further ahead, Mashreq plans to turn NEO BIZ into a connected business ecosystem through Banking-as-a-Service capabilities and strategic partnerships. The vision includes bookkeeping, supply chain solutions, tax facilitation, analytics, invoicing and cash flow-based financing — services that go well beyond a bank account and into the operating heart of a small business. Syed Jaffar Abbas Shirazi, Head of NEO BIZ at Mashreq Bank Pakistan, said the proposition was designed with a clear understanding of the challenges entrepreneurs face at different stages of growth.
For Pakistan’s millions of SMEs — many of them still operating partly in cash — the arrival of a dedicated digital banking proposition is a sign of where the country’s financial sector is heading. Whether NEO BIZ can win their trust will depend on execution: onboarding simplicity, pricing, and service quality. But the launch itself puts another major player into the race to digitize Pakistan’s small business economy.
