KARACHI: Sohail Javaad Executive Director of Digital Financial Services Group (DFSG) of State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Tuesday said that there are around 5,000 registered online merchants and 13 million active users of banking Apps; while transactions worth nearly Rs20 trillion are executed through mobile banking, each year in Pakistan.
He added that the significance of digitization for the development of a nation cannot be overstressed. He expressed these views during the 15th episode of SBP’s Podcast series.
Indigenous payment gateway RAAST
An important milestone achieved by SBP is the launch of RAAST, an indigenous payment gateway, he remarked.
RAAST is a user-friendly system in which an individual just needs to connect his/her mobile number with their preferred bank account to send or receive funds without any cost, the Executive Director of Digital Financial Services Group said.
Since the launch of RAAST Person to Person (P2P) mode in February 2022, it has processed around Rs500 billion, enabling 250,000 to 300,000 transactions per day, he further said.
Enabling platforms for Fintechs
He also discussed the architecture of the catalytic regulatory framework developed to nurture digitization and provide an enabling platform for Fintechs, payment providers, and other stakeholders.
He maintained that payment system providers such as 1-link and NIFT have played a key role in the proliferation of digital payments in Pakistan, by ensuring interoperable financial transactions.
The podcast also covers some intriguing questions over the future of cryptocurrency, non-availability of PayPal in Pakistan, and the recent non-acceptance of card payments at petrol stations.
Research shows that it has the potential to increase GDP by up to seven percent, he added. During the last decade, digital payment systems have grown exponentially in Pakistan specifically, the growth of bill payments, funds transfer and e-commerce transactions through digital channels, has been phenomenal, he added.
