Karachi, June 22, 2023 – The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has announced revised regulations for Electronic Money Institutions (EMIs) in order to broaden the outreach and scope of these innovative fintech-enabled payment companies.
The updated regulations now permit EMIs to offer their customers, including minors and freelancers, higher monthly wallet limits. Additionally, EMIs can now provide new payment services such as Payments Aggregation, Bill/Invoice Aggregation, Payment Initiation, Account Information, Escrow Services for domestic e-commerce transactions, Services via APIs to Financial Institutions (FIs)/Fintechs/Third-Party Service Providers (TPSPs), and Inward cross-border remittances to their customers.
Since the initial issuance of EMI Regulations in 2019, there has been a growing interest from both local and foreign fintech companies to operate as EMIs in Pakistan. To date, the State Bank has granted approval to four EMIs to commence commercial operations, while six EMIs are at various stages of the licensing process. As of March 2023, these EMIs have collectively opened nearly 1.6 million e-money wallets, with a total outstanding e-money value of Rs. 2 billion.
The revised regulations, issued on June 21, 2023, align with the SBP’s vision of encouraging non-banking fintech companies to enter the payments space, thereby promoting digitalization in the financial sector and expanding the reach of EMI operations to foster the adoption of digital financial services.
These new regulations, formulated through extensive consultations with existing and prospective EMIs, as well as relevant stakeholders, are expected to enable customers to access improved services from these regulated e-money providers.
The SBP anticipates that the revised regulations will attract more fintech companies from Pakistan and around the world to enter the EMI business in Pakistan. This influx of participants is expected to bring forth innovative, affordable, and enhanced payment services, consequently advancing digital financial inclusion in the country.
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