ISLAMABAD: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) will roll out a new feature from October 2021 this year allowing customers to use their mobile numbers instead of bank account numbers to receive instant payments, Pakistani media reported on Thursday.
Pakistan has the third largest unbanked adult population globally with about 100 million adults without a bank account, according to the World Bank. Phone-based banking has proven a hit among the poor in other emerging markets such as China, India and Kenya. Those efforts have been driven by private sector companies that offer user-friendly, affordable apps.
Whether Pakistan's state system will prove as nimble and easy to use remains to be seen. And it will initially require help from the very same banks that for decades have shut out low-income Pakistanis with pricey fees.
“A customer can link his/her mobile number ... with their bank account number under Raast (indigenous instant payment system),” SBP Payment System Department (PSD) Director Syed Sohail Javaad was quoted as saying by the Express Tribune. “This feature will be rolled out in October 2021.”
Speaking at the UBL Digital Mobile Commerce 2021 this week, Javaad said that in the near future, people would be able to use their mobile numbers instead of bank account numbers to receive instant payments.
Last month, Bloomberg reported that Islamabad-based fintech startup TAG Innovation Pvt. was set to become Pakistan’s first digital bank when it started operations in June in the world’s fifth most populous nation where 70% of adults don’t have a bank account.
TAG joins other digital payment startups in raising funds as digital banks take off in emerging markets where millions lack access to banking services. Razorpay, an Indian startup that facilitates digital payments, said in April it was raising $160 million, while Egyptian digital banking app Telda raised $5 million last month.
Pakistan pushes mobile phones over bank accounts to help unbanked consumers ditch cash
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Pakistan pushes mobile phones over bank accounts to help unbanked consumers ditch cash
- Central bank to roll out new feature from October 2021 allowing customers to use mobile numbers instead of account numbers to receive instant payments
- Pakistan has third largest unbanked adult population globally with about 100 million adults without a bank account
ADB, Pakistan sign over $300 million agreements to undertake climate resilience initiatives
- Pakistan ranks among nations most vulnerable to climate change and has seen erratic changes in weather patterns
- The projects in Sindh and Punjab will restore nature-based coastal defenses and enhance agricultural productivity
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistani government and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) have signed more than $300 million agreements to undertake two major climate resilience initiatives, Pakistan’s Press Information Department (PID) said on Tuesday.
The projects include the Sindh Coastal Resilience Sector Project (SCRP), valued at Rs50.5 billion ($180.5 million), and the Punjab Climate-Resilient and Low-Carbon Agriculture Mechanization Project (PCRLCAMP), totaling Rs34.7 billion ($124 million).
Pakistan ranks among nations most vulnerable to climate change and has seen erratic changes in its weather patterns. In 2022, monsoon floods killed over 1,700 people, displaced another 33 million and caused over $30 billion losses, while another 1,037 people were killed in floods this year.
The South Asian country is ramping up climate resilience efforts, with support from the ADB and World Bank, and investing in climate-resilient infrastructure, particularly in vulnerable areas.
“Both sides expressed their commitment to effectively utilize the financing for successful and timely completion of the two initiatives,” the PID said in a statement.
The Sindh Coastal Resilience Project (SCRP) will promote integrated water resources and flood risk management, restore nature-based coastal defenses, and strengthen institutional and community capacity for strategic action planning, directly benefiting over 3.8 million people in Thatta, Sujawal, and Badin districts, according to ADB.
The Punjab project will enhance agricultural productivity and climate resilience across 30 districts, improving small farmers’ access to climate-smart machinery, introducing circular agriculture practices to reduce residue burning, establishing testing and training facilities, and empowering 15,000 women through skills development and livelihood diversification.
Earlier this month, the ADB also approved $381 million in financing for Pakistan’s Punjab province to modernize agriculture and strengthen education and health services, including concessional loans and grants for farm mechanization, Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education, and nursing sector reforms.
