KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has developed an online portal called the SBP Regulatory Approval System (RAS) to enable regulated entities (i.e. banks, electronic money institutions, payment system operators, payment service providers, etc.) to submit cases or proposals and receive regulatory decisions digitally.

The SBP said on Wednesday that in order to promote digitalisation and encourage eco-friendly practices, the system has been developed.

Previously, SBP implemented RAS for its various functions aimed at end-to-end digitalisation, whereby banks were enabled to electronically submit cases related to Banking Policy and Regulations and Exchange Policy.

The SBP said that with the launch of RAS banks, development finance institutions (DFIs) and microfinance banks (MFBs) have started submitting their request letters and proposals on a dedicated online portal to SBP’s Banking Policy and Regulations Department.

Earlier in October 2020, SBP launched the SBP FX RAS for end-to-end digitisation of foreign exchange (FX) related case submission processes. The objective of this initiative was to provide a fully digitalised platform to the business community and individuals in approaching banks for their foreign exchange related requests.

The system turned out to be a huge success as it enabled the customers to lodge their FX related requests from the location of their convenience and also enabled banks to submit FX related cases electronically for regulatory approval of SBP and SBP-Banking Services Corporation (BSC).

In a similar vein, RAS for Payment Systems Policy and Oversight is being rolled out for industry-wide implementation. The RAS will make submission of requests and proposals by regulated entities efficient, easy to track and paperless.

Published in Dawn, July 7th, 2022