1Link

1LINK

Operating area	Pakistan
Members	Osama atm = 3,400+ ATMs
Founded	1999

1LINK (Guarantee) Limited is a consortium of major banks that own and operate the largest representative interbank network in Pakistan.

The 1LINK brand has grown as their number of member banks increases.

1LINK (Guarantee) Limited is a registered company, incorporated under the company law by Security and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP).

History

Formation

• Year 1999: ABN AMRO and Askari Bank connected their ATM network to provide expanded services to their customers using technology from TPS_Pakistan..
• Year 2002: SBP circular for the mandatory connectivity of either of the two switches.
• Year 2003: 1LINK formed with a consortium of eleven founder banks.
• Year 2005: 1LINK partnership with Visa International using technology from TPS_Pakistan..
• Year 2006: 1LINK launched Inter Bank Funds Transfer Service (IBFT)in collaboration with and using technology from TPS_Pakistan..
• Year 2007: 1LINK launched Utility Bill Payment Service (UBPS) in partnership with and using technology from TPS_Pakistan.

1LINK is owned by the consortium of eleven major banks of the country and operates through a chief executive officer. The company Board consists of eleven directors, one from each founder member bank.

Membership history

The number of 1LINK member banks has increased rapidly since the inception of the company in 2003.

1LINK is the largest banking consortium in Pakistan. It is one of the two ATM switches operational in the country (the other is MNET, hosted by MCB Bank Ltd). The State Bank of Pakistan has mandated that all commercial banks in Pakistan, both foreign and domestic, become members of one or the other switch. Additionally, the two switches have been interconnected since 2006, which means that a consumer holding an ATM or debit card issued by any bank in Pakistan may use any ATM located throughout the country.

• Year 2003: twelve member banks
• Year 2004: fifteen member banks
• Year 2005: seventeen member banks
• Year 2006: twenty-two member banks
• Year 2007: twenty-four member banks
• Year 2008: twenty-nine member banks
• Year 2009: thirty-one member banks
• Future: sixty-six member banks

Statistics

• Strength of thirty-one banks, including all Islamic banks of the country and two micro finance banks.
• Pakistan’s largest ATM switch with 3,400+ ATMs in 200+ cities nationwide.
• Debit/credit card base exceeding 7.11 mMillion.
• Volume of PKR 14.2 billion (monthly average) of ATM withdrawal.
• Inter bank funds transfer among more than 3,000 branches of participating IBFT Banks nationwide.
• Monthly Rs. 388 million (approximately) transfer of funds among IBFT banks.

Services

1. Shared ATM network
2. Inter-bank funds transfer
3. Visa services
4. Utility Bill payment service
5. Credit card acquiring
6. Connectivity with other networks

External links

• 1link
• TPS