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Category: Money & Banking

Money and banking drive economic activity by facilitating transactions, savings, and investments. Banks manage financial resources, offer credit, and regulate money supply, ensuring stability and growth in Pakistan’s financial sector.

  • SBP receives 20 applications for digital bank licenses

    SBP receives 20 applications for digital bank licenses

    KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Wednesday said that around 20 applications were received for digital bank license by end of deadline i.e. March 31, 2022.

    The application process registered an overwhelming response whereby SBP received twenty (20) applications from a diverse range of applicants, including domestic commercial banks, microfinance banks, electronic money institutions and FinTech players, the SBP said in a statement issued on Wednesday.

    Foreign players already operating in the digital banking space overseas have also expressed their interest to venture into Pakistani market.

    The strong interest shown by both local and international players into SBP’s digital banks’ initiative reflects their confidence in the financial sector of Pakistan and the potential of the investment opportunities available in the country.

    Earlier this year on January 03, 2022, SBP launched its “Licensing and Regulatory Framework for Digital Banks”.

    While setting foundation for the customers’ convenience, providing cost effective digital financial services and promoting innovation for achieving SBP’s overall goal of digitization in the banking business, the Framework is primarily aimed at providing financial services to unserved and underserved segments of the society.

    To achieve the intended objectives under this regulatory initiative, the applications were solicited from interested applicants who can demonstrate strong value proposition, robustness of technological infrastructure, sufficiency of financial strength, high level of technical expertise and effectiveness of their risk management culture in the Digital Banks’ space.

    SBP developed and finalized this Framework after an extensive consultative process. Initially, SBP released an exposure draft of this Framework and a targeted survey was launched to invite feedback from a wide range of local as well as international stakeholders. Subsequently, a number of meetings were held with all the stakeholders to further enrich the consultative exercise.

    Later, SBP also organized two interactive webinars titled ‘Digital Banks – A New Era in Pakistan’ and ‘The Promise of Digital Banks’ with leading local as well as international speakers to discuss the opportunities and challenges associated with digital banks as well as disseminate awareness about Pakistan’s digital bank licensing framework.

    During the application window opened from January 03 till March 31, 2022, SBP has remained extensively engaged with all the interested applicants and held various rounds of discussions/ meetings with all of them.

    Moreover, SBP team also remained committed to provide exclusive support and necessary facilitation required for preparation and submission of applications to all the applicants. This initiative of State Bank would greatly help in providing financial services to underserved and unserved segments of the society.

  • Dollar crosses PKR 186 in midday interbank trading

    Dollar crosses PKR 186 in midday interbank trading

    KARACHI: The US dollar crossed the level of 186 to Pakistan Rupee (PKR) during midday trading at interbank foreign exchange market on Wednesday.

    The dollar/rupee parity is at Rs186.10 to the dollar. The foreign currency has gained 87 paisas so far when compared with last day’s closing of Rs185.23.

    READ MORE: Dollar continues record spree against PKR; hits 185.23

    The rupee fell non-stop against the dollar for the last 15 trading sessions. The local currency recorded Rs178.51 at interbank closing on March 11, 2022 and since then the dollar’s made gain Rs6.72 at the closing.

    The local unit recorded a decline of Rs27.69 or 17.58 per cent against the dollar since start of the current fiscal year. The rupee was at Rs157.54 to the dollar on June 30, 2021 and fell to Rs185.23 to the dollar on April 05, 2022.

    READ MORE: Dollar makes new top at Rs184.09

    The recent fall may be attributed to significant fall to foreign exchange reserves. Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves have depleted by $2.88 billion in a week to $18.554 billion by week ended March 25, 2022, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said on Thursday.

    The foreign exchange reserves of the country were $21.44 billion by week ended March 18, 2022.

    This is seventh consecutive week when the country’s foreign exchange reserves have witnessed consistent decline. The liquid foreign exchange reserves of Pakistan have declined by $5.167 billion since February 04, 2022, when the reserves were at $23.721 billion.

    READ MORE: Rupee continues falling spree; dollar at Rs183.48

    The ballooning current account deficit escalated the dollar value. Pakistan’s current account deficit ballooned to $12 billion during first eight months (July – February) 2021/2022 against a surplus of $994 million in the corresponding months of the last fiscal year.

    Although the current account deficit narrowed to $545 million in February 2022 as compared with the deficit of $2.53 billion in January 2022, scheduled external repayments are still a threat to balance of payment.

    READ MORE: Rupee falls to new historic low to dollar at 182.64

    The trade deficit widened by 70 per cent to $35.39 billion during first nine months (July – March) 2021/2022 as compared with the deficit of $20.8 billion in the corresponding months of the last fiscal year.

    The exports of the country recorded an increase of 24.67 per cent to $23.3 billion during first nine months of the current fiscal year as compared with $18.7 billion in the same months of the last fiscal year.

    Meanwhile, import bill registered an increase of 48.63 per cent to $58.69 billion during July – March 2021/2022 as compared with $39.49 billion in the corresponding period of the last fiscal year.

  • Meezan Bank, SNGPL sign deal for digital bill collection

    Meezan Bank, SNGPL sign deal for digital bill collection

    KARACHI: Meezan Bank has recently signed an agreement with Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) to enable digitalization of consumer bill collection via the Bank’s state-of-the-art Transaction Banking Solution (eBiz+).

    READ MORE: Meezan Bank provides bill discounting facility for Huawei

    The agreement was signed by Irfan Siddiqui – Founding President & CEO, Meezan Bank and Ali J. Hamdani – Managing Director and CEO, SNGPL in the presence of other key management members including Ariful Islam – Deputy CEO, Abdullah Ahmed – Group Head Corporate and Institutional Banking, M. Saqib Ashraf – Head Transaction Banking and M. Munir – Head Payments and Cash Management from Meezan Bank, and Faisal Iqbal – Chief Financial Officer, SNGPL.

    READ MORE: Meezan Bank lends Rs1 billion under youth scheme

    As per the agreement, Meezan Bank will provide transaction banking services (eBiz+) to SNGPL enabling payment of gas bills by the residents of Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) and Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJ&K) via e-channels and branch banking avenues offered by the Bank.

    READ MORE: Meezan Bank announces 26% growth in annual profit

    On this occasion, Ali J. Hamdani shared SNGPL’s ambition to become a leader in sourcing energy across Pakistan while providing ease of access to its consumers via eBiz+ collection services.

    Irfan Siddiqui, also commented on the occasion, said: “The agreement between Meezan Bank and SNGPL will not only strengthen the Bank’s transaction banking portfolio but will also improve the bill collection process by making it more accessible to millions. SNGPL is already a trusted corporate client for the Bank and this agreement further strengthens our relationship.”

    READ MORE: Meezan Bank, Suzuki Motors sign MoU for car financing

  • Crypto platform appoints Pakistan country manager

    Crypto platform appoints Pakistan country manager

    KARACHI: Rain Financial, Inc. a global leading cryptocurrency trading platform, has appointed Zeeshan Ahmed as its Country General Manager, Pakistan, a statement said on Tuesday.

    While Rain is not yet operational in Pakistan, it will be advocating for the regulation and seek licensing in the country.

    READ MORE: Pakistan needs to introduce laws to tax crypto income

    Zeeshan is a senior management professional leading turnaround and growth strategies. With a career span of over 16 years, seven of which were spent at strategic C level positions, he most recently worked as the Chief Executive Officer for Askari Enterprises (A subsidiary of AWT).

    Commenting on his appointment Zeeshan said: “I am thrilled to be joining Rain Pakistan at this pivotal time for the blockchain and crypto industry. I look forward to working with the talented team at Rain and developing a licensed and regulated cryptoasset exchange in Pakistan.”

    READ MORE: Court committee for ban on crypto currency in Pakistan

    This announcement comes just weeks after Rain Financial Inc. secured USD 110 million Series B funding.

    The round was co-led by Paradigm and Kleiner Perkins with participation from numerous parties including Coinbase Ventures, Global Founders Capital, MEVP, Cadenza Ventures, JIMCO, and CMT Digital. Founded in 2017 by Abdullah Almoaiqel, AJ Nelson, Joseph Dallago, and Yehia Badawy, Rain will utilize this investment to further expand licensing in other countries and regions, enhancing its technology and continuing to grow the team as cryptocurrency adoption increases globally.

    READ MORE: FIA probes Binance in mega crypto scam

    Rain Financial Inc. and its group has done over USD 2 billion worth of transactions, amassed over 200,000 active users, and now has over 500 employees, with a focus on growing its team even further across the region, by the end of 2022.

    With changing consumer behavior and increasing demand in the interest of crypto, Rain is committed to investing in building a platform that is simplified and easy to use.

    READ MORE: Cryptocurrency, best performing assets in Pakistan

  • Dollar continues record spree against PKR; hits 185.23

    Dollar continues record spree against PKR; hits 185.23

    KARACHI: The US dollar’s record making 15-day spree against Pakistan Rupee (PKR) continued on Tuesday as the exchange rate ended Rs185.23 in interbank foreign exchange market.

    The rupee fell by Rs1.14 paisas to close at Rs185.25 to the dollar from previous close of Rs184.09 on April 01, 2022 in the interbank foreign exchange market.

    The rupee fell non-stop against the dollar for the last 15 trading sessions. The local currency recorded Rs178.51 at interbank closing on March 11, 2022 and since then the dollar’s made gain Rs6.72.

    READ MORE: Dollar makes new top at Rs184.09

    The local unit recorded a decline of Rs27.69 or 17.58 per cent against the dollar since start of the current fiscal year. The rupee was at Rs157.54 to the dollar on June 30, 2021 and fell to Rs185.23 to the dollar on April 05, 2022.

    The recent fall may be attributed to significant fall to foreign exchange reserves. Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves have depleted by $2.88 billion in a week to $18.554 billion by week ended March 25, 2022, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said on Thursday. The foreign exchange reserves of the country were $21.44 billion by week ended March 18, 2022.

    READ MORE: Rupee continues falling spree; dollar at Rs183.48

    This is seventh consecutive week when the country’s foreign exchange reserves have witnessed consistent decline. The liquid foreign exchange reserves of Pakistan have declined by $5.167 billion since February 04, 2022, when the reserves were at $23.721 billion.

    The ballooning current account deficit escalated the dollar value. Pakistan’s current account deficit ballooned to $12 billion during first eight months (July – February) 2021/2022 against a surplus of $994 million in the corresponding months of the last fiscal year.

    READ MORE: Rupee falls to new historic low to dollar at 182.64

    Although the current account deficit narrowed to $545 million in February 2022 as compared with the deficit of $2.53 billion in January 2022, scheduled external repayments are still a threat to balance of payment.

    The trade deficit widened by 70 per cent to $35.39 billion during first nine months (July – March) 2021/2022 as compared with the deficit of $20.8 billion in the corresponding months of the last fiscal year.

    READ MORE: Rupee deteriorates record low to dollar at 182.34

    The exports of the country recorded an increase of 24.67 per cent to $23.3 billion during first nine months of the current fiscal year as compared with $18.7 billion in the same months of the last fiscal year.

    Meanwhile, import bill registered an increase of 48.63 per cent to $58.69 billion during July – March 2021/2022 as compared with $39.49 billion in the corresponding period of the last fiscal year.

  • Dollar hits PKR 184.35 in intraday trading

    Dollar hits PKR 184.35 in intraday trading

    KARACHI: The US dollar hit a new record high at Pakistan Rupee (PKR) 184.35 during intraday trading at interbank foreign exchange market on Tuesday.

    The market opened after three days (two weekly holidays + bank holiday) and witnessed dollar demand.

    The rupee fell so far 26 paisas against the dollar. The local unit ended at Rs184.09 to the dollar on April 01, 2022 in interbank foreign exchange market. It was the highest level of the dollar by closing of interbank market.

    READ MORE: Dollar makes new top at Rs184.09

    The rupee fell non-stop against the dollar for the last 14 trading sessions. The local currency recorded Rs178.51 at interbank closing on March 11, 2022 and since then the dollar’s Bull Run was unabated.

    The recent fall may be attributed to significant fall to foreign exchange reserves. Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves have depleted by $2.88 billion in a week to $18.554 billion by week ended March 25, 2022, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said on Thursday. The foreign exchange reserves of the country were $21.44 billion by week ended March 18, 2022.

    READ MORE: Rupee continues falling spree; dollar at Rs183.48

    This is seventh consecutive week when the country’s foreign exchange reserves have witnessed consistent decline. The liquid foreign exchange reserves of Pakistan have declined by $5.167 billion since February 04, 2022, when the reserves were at $23.721 billion.

    READ MORE: Rupee falls to new historic low to dollar at 182.64

    The ballooning current account deficit escalated the dollar value. Pakistan’s current account deficit ballooned to $12 billion during first eight months (July – February) 2021/2022 against a surplus of $994 million in the corresponding months of the last fiscal year.

    Although the current account deficit narrowed to $545 million in February 2022 as compared with the deficit of $2.53 billion in January 2022, scheduled external repayments are still a threat to balance of payment.

    READ MORE: Rupee deteriorates record low to dollar at 182.34

  • Meta, NIBAF collaborate to train women entrepreneurs

    Meta, NIBAF collaborate to train women entrepreneurs

    KARACHI: Meta is collaborating with the National Institute of Banking and Finance (NIBAF), a subsidiary of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to train and up-skill Pakistani women entrepreneurs in order to foster sustainability and resilience of women-led businesses in the country, a statement said on Friday.

    The program is being implemented under the ‘Business Resilience through Financial Education (BRFE)’ component of Meta’s flagship women empowerment program ‘SheMeansBusiness’. SheMeansBusiness was introduced in Pakistan in May 2020 in partnership with the SBP and USAID to bolster financial inclusion and resiliency of women-led businesses, particularly during the Covid-19 induced economic slowdown.

    Under the arrangement, Meta, in collaboration with National Institute of Banking & Finance (NIBAF), will be hosting a series of online training sessions to up-skill 3,000 women entrepreneurs who are part of NIBAF’s National Financial Literacy Program for Youth (NFLP-Y).

    The primary aim of the program is to strengthen women’s business financial understanding and help them grow their businesses for enhancing their socioeconomic standing and role in the society. NFLP-Y program focuses on managing personal finances and has a wide reach within Pakistan.

    “Financial empowerment is one of the key drivers of women empowerment. NIBAF is excited to collaborate with META to strengthen the financial literacy and digital skills of Pakistani women. We hope that this partnership will help our women craft their own entrepreneurship journeys”, says Riaz Nazarali Chunara, Managing Director NIBAF.

    “We are excited to collaborate with NIBAF to foster financial education and training for Pakistan women entrepreneurs”, Beth Ann Lim, Director, APAC Policy Programs and Government Outreach  – Meta said. “Financial education is crucial for sustainability and resilience of small and medium enterprises, especially when combined with digital skills. Over the last 2 years we’ve found that entrepreneurs that have adopted digital tools have been more resilient, financial education would further enable them to adapt and grow their businesses. I hope this arrangement goes on to make a significant difference for women led businesses in the country.”

    The Meta-NIBAF partnership aims to build on the two organizations’ shared experience in upskilling and enabling up and coming entrepreneurs for improved business prospects. While Meta has been leveraging its social media platforms and digital expertise for human development and economic recovery post Covid-19, NIBAF also boasts extensive capabilities and expertise in designing, and delivering a range of training programs, workshops, and seminars in subjects relevant to economics, banking, finance, and management for capacity building of commercial bankers, micro and rural finance providers, management professionals and entrepreneurs in the country. Its National Financial Literacy Program for Youth (NFLP-Y) educates the Pakistani youth and school-going children on money management skills.

  • Dollar makes new top at Rs184.09

    Dollar makes new top at Rs184.09

    KARACHI: The unabated record making journey of the US Dollar against Pakistan Rupee (PKR) continued on Friday as the foreign currency reached to a new historic high of Rs184.09.

    The rupee fell by 61 paisas to close at Rs184.09 to the dollar from previous day’s close of Rs183.48 in the interbank foreign exchange market.

    READ MORE: Rupee continues falling spree; dollar at Rs183.48

    The rupee fell non-stop against the dollar for the last 14 trading sessions. The local currency recorded Rs178.51 at interbank closing on March 11, 2022 and since then the dollar’s Bull Run was unabated.

    The recent fall may be attributed to significant fall to foreign exchange reserves. Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves have depleted by $2.88 billion in a week to $18.554 billion by week ended March 25, 2022, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said on Thursday. The foreign exchange reserves of the country were $21.44 billion by week ended March 18, 2022.

    READ MORE: Rupee falls to new historic low to dollar at 182.64

    This is seventh consecutive week when the country’s foreign exchange reserves have witnessed consistent decline. The liquid foreign exchange reserves of Pakistan have declined by $5.167 billion since February 04, 2022, when the reserves were at $23.721 billion.

    READ MORE: Rupee deteriorates record low to dollar at 182.34

    The ballooning current account deficit escalated the dollar value. Pakistan’s current account deficit ballooned to $12 billion during first eight months (July – February) 2021/2022 against a surplus of $994 million in the corresponding months of the last fiscal year.

    READ MORE: Dollar jumps to new record high at PKR 182.19

    Although the current account deficit narrowed to $545 million in February 2022 as compared with the deficit of $2.53 billion in January 2022, scheduled external repayments are still a threat to balance of payment.

  • SBP issues bank timing during Ramadan 2022

    SBP issues bank timing during Ramadan 2022

    KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Friday issued banking office and business hours during the holy month of Ramadan ul Mubarak.

    During the ensuing month of Ramadan-ul-Mubarak 1443 A.H., the following office hours will be observed in the State Bank of Pakistan, which will also be followed by all banks / Development Financial Institutions (DFIs) / Microfinance Banks (MFBs):

    DaysOffice Hours
    Monday to Thursday10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. (with prayer break from 2:00 p.m. to 2:15 p.m.)
    Friday10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. (without break)

    Banks / MFBs are further advised to observe the following minimum business (banking) hours for public dealing:

    DaysBusiness (Banking) Hours for Public Dealing
    Monday to Thursday10:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. (without break)
    Friday10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. (without break)

    However, except Friday, banks / MFBs may observe extended business (banking) hours for public dealing from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. (with 15 minutes prayer break) as per their business requirements.

    After the month of Ramadan-ul-Mubarak, the above timings will automatically be reverted to pre Ramzan timings.

  • Dollar touches Rs184 in midday interbank trading

    Dollar touches Rs184 in midday interbank trading

    KARACHI: The US Dollar continues record breaking journey against the Pakistan Rupee (PKR) and reached Rs184 for the first time in interbank foreign exchange market.

    The dollar gained 52 paisas in midday trading from previous day’s closing of Rs183.48 in the interbank foreign exchange market.

    READ MORE: Rupee continues falling spree; dollar at Rs183.48

    The rupee last day closing fell non-stop against the dollar for the last 13 trading sessions. The local currency recorded Rs178.51 at interbank closing on March 11, 2022 and since then the dollar run was unabated.

    The recent fall may be attributed to significant fall to foreign exchange reserves. Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves have depleted by $2.88 billion in a week to $18.554 billion by week ended March 25, 2022, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said on Thursday. The foreign exchange reserves of the country were $21.44 billion by week ended March 18, 2022.

    READ MORE: Rupee falls to new historic low to dollar at 182.64

    This is seventh consecutive week when the country’s foreign exchange reserves have witnessed consistent decline. The liquid foreign exchange reserves of Pakistan have declined by $5.167 billion since February 04, 2022, when the reserves were at $23.721 billion.

    READ MORE: Rupee deteriorates record low to dollar at 182.34

    The ballooning current account deficit escalated the dollar value. Pakistan’s current account deficit ballooned to $12 billion during first eight months (July – February) 2021/2022 against a surplus of $994 million in the corresponding months of the last fiscal year.

    READ MORE: Dollar jumps to new record high at PKR 182.19

    Although the current account deficit narrowed to $545 million in February 2022 as compared with the deficit of $2.53 billion in January 2022, scheduled external repayments are still a threat to balance of payment.