Mohammad Anwar Khan
Co-Founder : Vivotech
A pioneer of contactless card and NFC mobile payments, Mohammad Anwar Khan helped lay the foundation for today’s tap-to-pay experience, including mobile wallets such as Apple Pay and Google Pay. His pioneering work contributed to payment technologies now used by more than 2.5 billion people worldwide. He holds more than 50 granted patents.
Raised in Lahore, Anwar earned his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore, before moving to the United States to complete his master’s at the University of Hawaiʻi at Manor.
He joined VeriFone in 1983 as a founding engineer. Over the next 15 years, he held leadership roles in product development, marketing and international business, helping expand the company’s payment solutions to 96 countries. He also co-founded VeriFone’s Internet Commerce Division, and the key reason HP acquired Verifone for $1.2 billion in 1997 – making it a first Fintech Unicorn.
In 2001, Anwar cofounded ViVOtech to pursue a vision ahead of its time: turning the mobile phone into a secure payment device.
“Anybody from any town in Pakistan can do big things. With technology and AI, we have a tremendous opportunity to create impact without even leaving the country.”
From Experience to Vision
During a visit to Japan, Anwar Khan watched commuters at Tokyo’s Shinjuku Station tap contactless cards to pass through the gates. He recognized a pivotal opportunity: bringing that same speed and convenience to everyday purchases through contactless payment cards—and ultimately NFC-enabled mobile phones.
He approached Visa, Mastercard and American Express to champion this vision. Working with payment networks and industry partners, ViVOtech developed readers, software and infrastructure that enabled early contactless and NFC mobile payment pilots. Nationwide adoption by major retailers, including McDonald’s and Tim Hortons, helped establish the acceptance infrastructure that would later support mobile wallets.
He describes the journey as requiring “a lot of conviction” and “a lot of evangelism.” More than a decade of engineering, collaboration and persistent advocacy helped turn ViVOtech’s vision into the foundation for a new era of payments.”