Islamabad & Rawalpindi · EasyPaisa & JazzCash Agents · Feb 21–22, 2026 · 20 Interviews
What is this? ZAR is exploring whether it can expand from digital dollars into digital gold — gold that lives in a secure vault, bought and sold instantly through a mobile app. The question is whether EasyPaisa and JazzCash agents (the shopkeepers who already sell mobile money services for commission across Islamabad) would also sell digital gold to their customers. This is Round 2 of discovery research. Round 1 (14 shopkeepers, Rawalpindi) tested a vague concept. Round 2 tests a specific economic argument: jewelers charge 5–6% over the real gold price — that's Rs 30,000–40,000 extra per tola — and this app eliminates that markup entirely. We ran 20 interviews across Islamabad and Rawalpindi on February 21–22, 2026 to find out: does that savings argument move shopkeepers from skeptical to interested?
2 confirmed green (behavioral demand, distribution willingness at threshold), 1 red (sentiment shift below threshold), 1 unknown (48-hour callback pending). The primary structural blocker is a trust deficit left by fraudulent investment apps — merchants pattern-match "digital gold app" to collapsed digital schemes they or their neighbors lost money to. The memory of those losses is still live in this community, and a pitch about "digital gold on an app" triggers that same pattern-match immediately.
The jeweler markup argument lands with merchants who already have markup awareness. It fails to move merchants who lack that baseline. The pitch needs an institutional anchor before Round 3.
| Metric | R1 | R2 | Direction |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sample size | 14 | 20 | ↑ +6 |
| Markup argument tested | No | Yes | ↑ New |
| Excited/strongly positive | 5/14 (36%) | 4/20 (20%) | ↓ −16pp |
| #1 barrier | Physical possession anxiety | Fraud/scam app memory | ↕ Shifted |
| Behavioral signals observed | ~2–3 | 4 confirmed | ↑ Improved |
| Distribution willingness | Not tested | 8/20 (40%) | ↑ At threshold |
| Action Observed | Merchant | Evidence | Signal Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Volunteered to buy through app unprompted | R2-02 | "I will buy from the app, not the market. Will also check the price." | Purchase intent |
| Asked about launch date / current status | R2-09 | Asked how intraday gold works, when app launches | Timing urgency |
| Compared to Easy Money — said "will go forward" | R2-10 | "If app is launched and everything is as stated — very good." Would tell all family. | Referral intent |
| Drew Easy Money parallel independently; wanted WhatsApp | R2-13 | "Every second person is on Easy Money. If trustable, no doubt — will buy and add." Noted R1 type questions unprompted. | Referral + distribute |
I will buy from the app, not the market. I'm more interested in the app. Because everything is happening online — if it becomes safe and secure, it's much better.
Every second person is on Easy Money. There's no phone without it. Insha Allah, this will also go forward. If it's a trustable app, there's no doubt — will buy and recommend.
I will tell my customers. I will tell my friends. I will tell everyone in my family. I will also agree — it is a good thing that a person can carry.
If it is real then — 100% we will buy it. Now there are so many customers on Easy Money. On this also, Insha Allah will take us forward again.
In Rs 500, what gold will be there? That would be invisible gold. Physically, there will not be gold there. Until a person sees something in front of his eyes, he doesn't trust it.
Those apps came. People invested at high percentage returns. The app closed. Millions and crores went. Without government approval — I cannot recommend this to anyone.
Is this illegal or legal? In Pakistan, fraud is happening. A person who has a little album will save himself. He won't do it without understanding.
Take Rs 1,000 first. Check it — if withdrawal is easy, there's no hurdle, the person's trust will build. Then step by step, Rs 10,000, Rs 1 lakh. It's all about reliability and easy access.
If you save even 20–30K per tola, that's enough. Definitely should happen. [Unprompted:] If there is a notice or banner so customers can see there's such an option in this shop — I'd guide everyone.
Buy one gram from the app every month. I can't afford a full tola now — but 10 months of Rs 500–1,000 and that's my investment and my asset. That's the idea that gives more value.
Field read: Ambassador gets a polite hearing then a wall — "come back when you have government paperwork." The "if it is legal" framing is exit language dressed as openness.
Field read: Easiest close in the set — he's already doing the pitch for you. Get him to the app screen fast before he overthinks. Quickest path to a live transaction.
Field read: Ambassador will mistake nodding for interest and leave thinking it went well. Zero follow-through likelihood. Don't log this as a soft-yes.
Field read: Must run a basic product explainer before any pitch lands — fractional gold is not intuitive here. Skip the ROI argument until unit size clicks.
Field read: He volunteers his scam story within two minutes. Let him finish it, never dismiss it, then anchor every claim to a verifiable third party — SECP, SBP, physical office address.
Field read: He will propose his own purchase plan and then interrogate every line item. Ambassador needs a printed fee/tax schedule or this stalls at "I need the full picture first."
Field read: Nothing to work with. Ambassador should qualify faster and exit — time spent here is dead time.
Field read: Walk in, show the app, hand him talking points — he will brief his own customers. Ambassador's job is activation, not persuasion.
Field read: Logic worked but he needs a concrete margin number in rupees per sale before he commits. Abstract percentage arguments won't close him.
Field read: Ask him directly who else he would tell and use that as a referral warm-lead list on the spot. One satisfied R2-10 converts others.
Field read: First question will be about legality. Ambassador must open with regulatory standing and a physical address before anything else — otherwise the conversation never starts.
Field read: Ambassador gets genuine comprehension and zero commitment. "If we have the time" is a soft deflection, not a real condition. Follow-up needs a frictionless onboarding path or this never converts.
Field read: Mental model already mapped. Ambassador's fastest path is confirming the commission rate matches or beats his current mobile money margin — that single number closes or kills it.
Field read: Category violation, not feature objection. Digital gold is philosophically wrong to a jeweler whose entire value system is tactile proof. Don't try to overcome this in one visit.
Field read: The Gold Tower reference will come up early. Name it directly, explain why ZAR is structurally different, then pivot to the COD delivery mechanics as the close.
Field read: He knows more about failed gold apps than the ambassador does. Any claim without a government document number gets filed next to NGR in his memory. Come with SECP registration in hand or don't come.
Field read: He has already designed his own pilot — Rs 1,000 trial, check withdrawal, then scale. Validate that plan, don't try to accelerate it.
Field read: Objection is operational, not conceptual. Ambassador needs to show total time-on-task per transaction is under 60 seconds — or this is a hard no regardless of commission.
Field read: Ambassador will walk out feeling encouraged — he'll do nothing. He needs to see customer pull before acting. Generate that pull elsewhere first, then return.
Field read: He'll engage seriously only after two things are on the table simultaneously — a specific commission figure and proof of physical company presence. One without the other gets a polite "50-50."
2 of 4 signals green. Trust infrastructure is the structural blocker — the jeweler markup argument is a real value prop that lands with merchants who have markup awareness, but it cannot overcome the community-memory of collapsed investment apps alone. The product needs an institutional anchor before another round of interviews.