SBP Rolls Out Raast Participation Criteria to Expand Digital Payments Network

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has issued Raast Participation Criteria outlining minimum requirements for the entities desirous of becoming Raast participants and having the necessary functional and technical capabilities to provide digital payment services to their customers through Raast. Raast is a state-of-the-art instant payment system launched by the SBP in 2021 to facilitate instant, safe and efficient transfer of funds across the country i.e. “instant payments – Pal Bhar Mein. Mulk Bhar Mein”. Raast offers a bulk payment facility, person-to-person (P2P) transfers, person-to-merchant (P2M) payments, and payment initiation services. Since its launch, forty-four (44) entities including SBP Regulated and Government entities have been on-boarded on Raast as the participants. To further enhance the usage of “Raast” for fostering digitization of the economy and enabling more and more individuals and businesses to conduct near real-time, efficient, and secure payment transactions, the “Raast Participation Criteria” have been developed for banking and non-banking institutions. It will enhance the Raast accessibility for promoting digital payments, and stimulate innovation and competition in the payments market. The following entities are eligible for applying for Raast participation: Entities that are under the licensing process with SBP and have valid in-principle approval are also eligible to apply for Raast participation. Access to Raast will be provided under four categories of participants: SBP envisages that the issuance of Raast Participation Criteria will facilitate the prospective participants in onboarding on Raast, significantly enhance the number of participants, promote digital payments, and encourage innovation and competition in the payments market.