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KARACHI: Pakistani fintech startup ABHI this week announced it has partnered with ����ֱ��’s cloud-based Point of Sale (POS) platform to launch the Earned Wage Access (EWA) service in the Kingdom, saying the move would promote financial inclusion. 

EWA is a financial solution allowing employees to withdraw a portion of their earned salary anytime before payday, eliminating the need to wait until the end of the month. 

The partnership entails integrating ABHI’s EWA technology into TRAY’s enterprise POS ecosystem, restaurants, cafés, and cloud kitchens across the Kingdom, allowing them to provide staff with on-demand salary access. ABHI said the move would financially empower employees, reduce turnover and strengthen retention in one of the most dynamic industries in ����ֱ��, food and beverage. 

“Partnering with TRAY enables ABHI to bring Earned Wage Access directly into the heart of ����ֱ��’s hospitality sector,” Omair Ansari, ABHI co-founder and chief executive officer, said in a statement on Wednesday. 

“By integrating our solution into TRAY’s platform, we provide SMEs with a tool to improve workforce retention while advancing financial inclusion across the Kingdom.”

ABHI said with the help of TRAY, which already supports payments, financing and delivery integrations, the Pakistani fintech’s EWA services will be offered as an embedded feature, making it easier than ever for businesses to adopt and provide employees with financial flexibility.

It said the collaboration is designed to support ����ֱ��’s Vision 2030 goals of financial inclusion, workforce empowerment and growth of small and medium businesses. 

ABHI, founded in 2021, has been serving customers in Pakistan, UAE, ����ֱ�� and Oman through its credit-bridging products. The company says it offers, apart from EWA, services such as invoice factoring, SME working capital and revenue-based financing and payroll solutions.

The fintech says it has served more than 1,000,000 users since entering the market, spanning industries from textiles and manufacturing to health care and technology. 

ABHI says it is backed by leading investors, including Y Combinator, VEF, SpeedInvest, Venture Souq, Global Ventures, and Zayn Capital.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and ����ֱ�� on Wednesday signed a “Strategic Mutual Defense Agreement” pledging that aggression against one country would be treated as an attack on both, a move that will enhance joint deterrence and strengthen decades of military and security cooperation.

The accord comes less than two weeks after Israeli airstrikes in Doha targeted Hamas leaders, a development that has heightened regional tensions and reinforced the urgency Gulf states place on stronger security and defense partnerships.

The Riyadh agreement also signals a push by both governments to formalize long-standing military ties into a binding security commitment.

The pact was signed during Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s state visit to Riyadh, where he met Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman at Al-Yamamah Palace. The two leaders, joined by senior ministers and military officials, reviewed what Sharif’s office called a “historic and strategic” relationship between the two nations and discussed regional developments.

“The agreement states that any aggression against either country shall be considered an aggression against both,” the joint statement said. 

It described the accord as a reflection of the two governments’ shared commitment to strengthening defense cooperation and “achieving security and peace in the region and the world.”

����ֱ�� and Pakistan have for decades maintained close political, military and economic ties. The Kingdom hosts more than 2.5 million Pakistani expatriates — the largest overseas community sending remittances back home — and has repeatedly provided Islamabad with financial support during economic crises. Defense cooperation has included training, arms purchases and joint military exercises.

The new agreement formalizes that cooperation into a mutual defense commitment, a step that analysts widely say places the relationship on par with other strategic partnerships in the region. 

While the statement did not detail implementation mechanisms, it stressed the accord was aimed at “developing aspects of defense cooperation between the two countries and strengthening joint deterrence against any aggression.”

The visit also comes as Pakistan looks to bolster ties with Gulf states amid ongoing economic challenges at home.