KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said on Tuesday that the successful completion of sandbox testing does not imply regulatory approval.

Successful participants must obtain the necessary authorisation and appro­val from the central bank before commercially laun­ching the product or service tested in the sandbox.

In line with SBP Vision 2028, the central bank launched the first cohort of its regulatory sandbox in August 2025, to foster innovation in digital financial services by testing innovative solutions in a controlled environment under the regulatory oversight of SBP.

The first cohort focused on three themes: technology-enabled solutions for inward remittances, open banking, and remote onboarding of merchants. After extensive scrutiny, SBP shortlisted six participants and invited them to test their solutions in the sandbox from January to June.

Throughout the cohort, SBP teams provided necessary support and regulatory guidance to the participants. Upon completion of the testing period, the following participants successfully demonstrated their solutions:

Taptap Send UK Ltd and United Bank Ltd Techno­logy-Enabled Solutions for Inward Remittances; Digi Khata (SMC-Private) Ltd Open Banking; Swich Ret­ail Private Ltd Open Ban­king and Neem Expo­ne­n­tial Financial Services (Pvt) Ltd Open Banking.

“The findings, learnings, and regulatory recommendations from cohort-1 will help SBP in the development of relevant regulatory frameworks for the benefit of broader industry,” said the SBP.

Published in Dawn, September 16th, 2026