Fake notice circulates about Pakistani digital payment company's 'service closure'

This article is more than one year old.
Published on January 3, 2024 at 02:59
2 min read
By AFP Pakistan

Social media users have shared a fabricated notice attributed to Easypaisa -- a Pakistani mobile payments provider -- warning customers that they risked losing the money in their accounts after December 31st, 2023 following a complete service shutdown. In fact, AFP found the service was still operational as of January 2, 2024. The false claim circulated after Easypasia's Norwegian investor, Telenor, announced it had sold off its Pakistani telecommunications operations.

"Attention Telenor customers. Withdraw money from your Easypaisa account. Telenor company has been sold," reads the Urdu-language post published on X on December 19. "Do not purchase any packages before 1st January 2024 or keep money in Easypaisa account after 31st December 2023 your money will be lost and you will not get your money."

The post also includes a purported announcement from Easypaisa that its operations were being shut down from December 31 (archived link).

A screenshot taken on December 23, 2023, of the false X post.

The post surfaced online after Telenor announced on December 14 that it would sell its telecommunication business in Pakistan to Pakistan Telecommunications Company (archived link).

The same fake notice circulated alongside a similar claim here, here and here on X; and here on Facebook.

False statement

AFP found no evidence the notice was ever shared on the company's website or its social media accounts.

After the false posts circulated, Easypaisa refuted them in a statement on its website, saying the mobile payment service was not part of the sale and would continue to operate in Pakistan (archived link).

"In response to recent news about Telenor Pakistan's sale, we want to assure our valued customers that our operations remain unaffected. Telenor Microfinance Bank (TMB) and its flagship platform, Easypaisa is not part of this transaction. Your deposits are completely secure, and this development will not impact them in any way," the statement read.

"We urge our customers to disregard any unsubstantiated rumours and continue to trust in our commitment to maintaining the highest standards of service and security. Your confidence is valued, and our operations will continue seamlessly. We remain committed to working towards our mission of a financially inclusive, digital Pakistan."

The same message was posted on Easypaisa's official X and Facebook accounts here and here (archived links here and here).

The platform's parent company -- Telenor Bank -- has also repeated the clarification on its official X account.

"Your deposits are completely secure, and this development will not impact them in any way," the post reads (archived link).

An AFP journalist in Islamabad was still able to access and use his Easypaisa account to transfer funds as of January 2, 2024, as shown in the screenshot below:

A screenshot taken on January 2, 2024, of a digital transaction receipt of Easypaisa Pakistan digital payments application.

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Fake notice circulates about Pakistani digital payment company's 'service closure'

False statement

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