Muhammad Soban

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has directed commercial banks to collaborate with different firms to adopt new technologies and play a due role in the digitisation of the country, WealthPK reports.

Pakistan has been moving towards digitisation as various sectors have been benefiting from modern technology. The SBP has also been promoting the use of technologies in the financial industry.

With cutting-edge competition and rising customer expectations, the banking industry in Pakistan is continuously evolving its landscape to become digital. Many banks are upgrading their systems and practices to keep up with the new trends, such as offering digital banking solutions.

Creating a better digital experience is a crucial element of every strategy to meet the demands of customers. Banks and other financial institutions must also digitally transform to deliver a consistent banking experience online or in retail.

As the industry has witnessed, some banks have made notable investments in digitalisation, reducing costs and response times and streamlining processes. This end-to-end integration allows business transformation through artificial intelligence and enhances customer engagement in financial services.

“Our slogan is that we oppose cash transactions. Nevertheless, our actions speak otherwise,” said Syed Irfan Ali, Managing Director, Deposit Protection Corporation of SBP.

The world is changing. The world is going digital. “We will remain where we are if we do not accept the change,” he said.

“Pakistan has two options for accelerating its digital transformation. Either it will have to do what India did (which abruptly changed currency, remained in pain, and achieved success after two years) or accelerate the evolution through collaboration,” said Syed Irfan Ali.

He stressed the need for more collaboration among stakeholders, including the central bank, to turn Pakistan into a digital economy sooner rather than later.

Pakistan has been transformed since it was put in the grey list by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). “Fortunately, we are not on the blacklist. We just underwent a transformation and will hopefully be removed soon from the grey list,” he said.

Syed Irfan Ali said that a world-class example of digitalisation of the economy in Pakistan was Raast, the fastest digital payment mode, and Roshan Digital Account (RDA) for overseas Pakistanis.

Over the past week, overseas Pakistanis have sent more than $5 billion through RDA. The amount remitted by non-resident Pakistanis through their digital accounts averages $250 million per month.

The automated teller machines (ATMs) are operated 99.6 percent of the time as compared to 94 percent some 10 years ago, according to the information gathered by WealthPK.

Credit : Independent News Pakistan-WealthPk