State Bank of Pakistan

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) acts as the country's central bank. It provides proprietary platforms and schemes across Pakistan. Services cover monetary operations, payment systems, refinance facilities, and Islamic finance. These offerings support individuals, businesses, and financial institutions.

Monetary and Payment Systems

SBP conducts Open Market Operations (OMO) Repo for monetary policy. This includes tenor up to 90 days. It is collateralized by Government of Pakistan securities. An automated auction platform via SBP's Auction Management System (AMS) supports these operations. OMO Reverse Repo has a tenor up to 30 days. It is collateralized by SBP-eligible instruments. Real-time settlement occurs through the Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) System.

The RTGS System offers 24×7 finality settlement. It handles high-value interbank payments. This system is also ISO 20022 messaging compliant. Pakistan Real-Time Interbank Settlement Mechanism (PRISM) enables instant funds transfer. It uses mobile-number aliases for connected PSPs/PSOs. PRISM has a 150,000 PKR per-transaction cap. It is available 24×7.

Image-Based Cheque Clearing (ImageCheques) processes electronic presentment of cheque images. It has a 2-day clearing cycle. The system uses end-to-end encryption. It also applies digital signatures to the MICR line. National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT) performs batch settlements at fixed intervals. It processes four windows per day. A carrier-grade secure VPN network links all participant banks. The Electronic Payment Gateway (SBP-EPG) offers API-based merchant integration. It supports e-commerce portals. This gateway maintains PCI DSS Level 1 compliance.

Refinance and Islamic Finance Facilities

The Export Finance Scheme (EFS) refinances export receivables. It offers a fixed refinance rate. Its tenor extends up to 180 days. It covers both pre- and post-shipment finance. The Long Term Financing Facility (LTFF) has a refinance rate pegged to SBP policy rate minus 2%. Its tenor is up to 8 years. It supports fixed-assets investment in priority sectors. SPIRE offers concessional refinance. The rate is SBP policy rate minus 3%. Its tenor is up to 7 years. It supports agri-tech SMEs.

The Refinance Facility for Technical Education & Vocational Training (RF-TEVT) provides finance for curriculum equipment. It operates under Musharaka mode. The SBP Shariah Board defines its profit-and-loss sharing ratio. Pakistan Ijarah Sukuk involves lease-based securitization of Shariah-compliant assets. Its tenor is 3-5 years. It is tradable on the Pakistan Stock Exchange. Pakistan Investment Sukuk (PI-Sukuk) is linked to a Government of Pakistan Ijara portfolio. It offers semi-annual profit distribution. This happens via SBP’s Sukkuk Settlement System. The Advisory Lending to Small & Micro Enterprises (SME Musharaka Facility) uses Diminishing Musharaka. It includes monthly equity buy-out. SBP-appointed Shariah Advisors provide end-to-end oversight for this facility.

Individual Banking and Regulatory Tools

Roshan Digital Account (RDA) is a multi-currency account. It supports PKR, USD, EUR, GBP, CNY, and JPY. It features fully digital onboarding. This includes e-KYC with a biometric liveness check. The Level 0 Digital Account has a maximum balance of PKR 100,000. Its per-transaction cap is PKR 10,000. Account opening is paperless. It uses the National Database & Registration Authority (NADRA) API.

PRISM (Policy & Regulation Information System Management) is a central repository for SBP circulars. It provides full-text search. It features role-based access control for commercial-bank users. The SBP Regulatory Sandbox Framework offers an ISO 27001-aligned environment. It tests new fintech solutions. It provides time-boxed pilot approvals with defined go/no-go metrics. The Rupey ko Pehchano (Currency Authentication Portal) verifies banknote images. It uses high-resolution banknote images. It also provides a machine-vision training dataset for counterfeit detection.