The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) issued a No Objection Certificate (NOC) for five applicants for digital banks in Pakistan on Friday.
The SBP introduced a licence and regulatory framework for digital banks in January 2022. On March 31, 2022, SBP received 20 applications from commercial banks, microfinance banks, electronic money institutions, and Fintech enterprises in response to its Licensing and Regulatory Framework for digital banks.
The companies that got the NOC for Digital Banks are;
- Easy Paisa D.B. (Telenor Pakistan B.V. & Ali Pay Holding Ltd.)
- Hugo Bank (Getz Bros & Co., Atlas Consolidated Pte. Ltd. and M & P Pakistan Pvt. Ltd.)
- K.T. Bank (Kuda Technologies Ltd., Fatima Fertilizer Ltd., City School Pvt. Ltd.)
- Mashreq Bank (Mashreq Bank UAE)
- Raqami (Kuwait Investment Authority through – PKIC and Enertech Holding Co)
A digital bank provides all banking goods and services online. SBP’s extensive initiatives to promote digital financial services in Pakistan aim to increase financial inclusion through cheap and cost-effective digital financial services. The framework covers licenses, sponsors, and phase-specific use cases. It also requires applicants to have good digital governance, robust, secure, and resilient I.T. infrastructure, and good data management procedures.
 issued a No Objection Certificate (NOC) for five applicants for digital banks in Pakistan on Friday.){kind=link}