Karachi, March 08, 2022: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has released the official exchange rates for March 08, 2022, shedding light on the currency values against the Pakistani Rupee.
(more…)Tag: State Bank of Pakistan
-
ADA to improve women’s financial inclusion
KARACHI: Dr. Reza Baqir, Governor, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Monday said that Asaan Digital Account (ADA) will break the barriers in financial inclusion of women.
It offers faster, cheaper, efficient and convenient solutions for meeting women’s requirements. “Asaan Digital Account is a fully digitized solution for opening a full-service bank account from anywhere, at any time, through smartphones or computers with only a CNIC and no other documentation requirements.”
READ MORE: SBP organizes discussion on ‘promise of digital banks’
SBP governor was addressing at an event to celebrate the journey of women’s financial inclusion in Pakistan.
The SBP, in collaboration with Bank Alfalah, Standard Chartered Bank and UBL hosted an event titled ‘Asaan Digital Account: Breaking Barriers’
Dr. Baqir lauded the contributions of women in various fields and stressed that women empowerment is the key to socio-economic developments in the country.
He observed that gender gaps do not allow women the same freedom to avail opportunities, rights and obligations in all walks of life as compared to men. However, the International Women’s Day encourages us to pause and reflect on the systemic barriers that limit women in their pursuits. He stressed the need to reflect and renew the sense of ambition, and transformative possibility around gender equality in financial services space.
READ MORE: Pakistan’s e-banking registers sharp increase in 1QFY22
Dr. Reza Baqir pointed out that, traditionally, women’s participation in financial services has remained low due to persistent barriers such as cumbersome documentation requirements, proximity to the bank branches and availability of suitable products which together with the constraining social and cultural norms, have prevented women from availing even the basic financial services such as owning a bank account.
The SBP governor went on to add that SBP is breaking these barriers and addressing women’s financial inclusion through various initiatives such as: Banking on Equality Policy, Raast – Pakistan’s first instant payment system, a comprehensive ‘Customers’ Digital Onboarding Framework’, to facilitate convenient opening of bank accounts, Asaan Mobile Account where anyone with a simple feature phone can open and use an account by dialing *2262#.
READ MORE: SBP imposes Rs1.45 billion penalty on 18 banks in 2021
In the same vein, SBP has also launched various financing schemes such as SBP Refinance and Credit Guarantee Scheme for Women Entrepreneurs, SME Asaan Finance or SAAF Initiative, and Prime Minister’s Kamyab Jawan Youth Entrepreneurship Scheme etc., and a country -wide National Financial Literacy Program which is imparting essential financial education to the masses.
Dr. Reza Baqir highlighted that these initiatives are already bridging the gender gaps in financial sector and services, however, he stressed that more needs to be done. He encouraged women to open their bank accounts through the newly introduced Asaan Digital Account while urging all banks to take measures to make the account opening process more simple, increase the value proposition for women, and market the features to expand their outreach.
READ MORE: SBP imposes penalty of Rs58 million on five banks
Group Head Bank Alfalah Ms. Mehreen Ahmed in her address said that Bank Alfalah has been playing its part for a number of years now, in helping women across many segments of the economy to become financially independent. She said her Bank has been enabling women entrepreneurs with initial funding to start their new ventures as well as providing funding for growing their already established businesses.
CEO Standard Chartered Bank Rehan Shaikh in his address said that women are an integral constituent of our society and their full and equal participation in all facets of society is a fundamental human right. He lauded the efforts of State Bank of Pakistan for playing a leading role in creating an environment to push the frontiers in this space. He went on to add that with continued focus and support by the State Bank of Pakistan, the banking industry is embracing digital transformation.
Speaking on the occasion, President & CEO, United Bank Limited Mr. Shazad Dada congratulated the State Bank of Pakistan on Asaan Digital Account initiative and termed its resounding success to its simplicity and accessibility to customers from all over Pakistan, including unbanked regions. He observed that the account is ideal for the women of Pakistan as it can be opened from anywhere and there is no need to visit a branch to open or maintain the account.
The event was attended by heads of financial institutions, influential women leaders, and prominent figures from various walks of life. On this occasion SCB, UBL and Bank Alfalah had set up stalls where the audience experienced live account opening of Asaan Digital Accounts.
-
SBP issues KIBOR rates on March 07, 2022
KARACHI: State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Monday issued the Karachi Interbank Offered Rates (KIBOR) as of March 07, 2022.
Following are the latest KIBOR rates:
Tenor BID OFFER 1 – Week 9.79 10.29 2 – Week 9.86 10.36 1 – Month 9.96 10.46 3 – Month 10.51 10.76 6 – Month 10.97 11.22 9 – Month 11.03 11.53 1 – Year 11.07 11.57 -
Customers’ exchange rates on March 07, 2022
Karachi, March 07, 2022: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has released the official exchange rates for March 07, 2022, presenting a snapshot of currency values against the Pakistani Rupee.
(more…) -
State Bank to celebrate women’s financial inclusion
KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has said it will celebrate the journey of women’s financial inclusion in Pakistan.
In this regard the central bank, in collaboration with UBL, Standard Chartered Bank, and Bank Alfalah, will be hosting an event titled “Asaan Digital Account: Breaking Barriers”, on March 07, 2022.
READ MORE: SBP organizes discussion on ‘promise of digital banks’
The SBP governor Dr. Reza Baqir, will be the chief guest of the event.
The event will celebrate the role and contributions of women in our economy and SBP will introduce its flagship Asaan Digital Account, which is a fully digitized solution for opening a full service bank account with CNIC and no other documentation requirements from anywhere, at any time, through smartphones or computers.
READ MORE: Pakistan’s e-banking registers sharp increase in 1QFY22
In this spirit, the event has been titled as “Bila rukawat – Asaan Digital Account” in Urdu to allude to the seamless access to banking that will now be available to all Pakistanis, especially women in their palms.
The Asaan Digital Account provides availability and accessibility of financial services to customers with the click of a few buttons.
READ MORE: SBP imposes Rs1.45 billion penalty on 18 banks in 2021
More importantly, these accounts are particularly helpful for women as it overcomes the barriers such as lack of documentation, proximity to bank branches and other social and cultural norms that have traditionally and disproportionally limited women’s access to bank accounts and hampered their financial inclusion.
READ MORE: SBP imposes penalty of Rs58 million on five banks
-
SBP organizes discussion on ‘promise of digital banks’
KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Saturday said it hosed an interactive session on March 03, 2022 on the topic ‘The Promise of Digital Banks’ for domestic and international stakeholders.
The stakeholders were included banks, fintechs, venture capital firms, digital banks and representatives of business community from across the world.
The objective of this webinar was to share information on SBP’s ‘Licensing and Regulatory Framework for Digital Banks’ and discuss the promise of digital banks especially in the context of the experience in other countries.
READ MORE: Pakistan’s e-banking registers sharp increase in 1QFY22
The webinar was aimed at sharing the broad contours of SBP’s initiative and the experiences of other international players. The webinar began with a keynote address by the Governor SBP, Dr. Reza Baqir, followed by an interactive panel discussion with well-known international experts in the fields of digital banking and fintechs.
In his keynote address, Dr. Reza Baqir, Governor State Bank of Pakistan, stated that with major digital enablers and fundamental components of a digital economy in place, Pakistan is now well set for a major digital evolution. He emphasized that, as noted in a recent opinion piece, a key goal behind SBP’s framework for digital banks is to promote financial inclusion and innovation in the country and provide an ecosystem where the customer and customer service is prioritized.
READ MORE: SBP imposes Rs1.45 billion penalty on 18 banks in 2021
He highlighted the challenges and gaps in the existing banking space and mentioned that SBP has laid a solid foundation for the provision of digital financial services by providing the legal and regulatory environment and core infrastructure.
Dr. Baqir also spoke about the steps taken by the SBP to promote innovation in financial services, including removing of barriers to entry for non-banks and fintechs, frictionless digital account opening for individuals, in-app biometric verification to facilitate customers’ digital on-boarding, and introducing Pakistan’s Instant Payment System – Raast. Dr. Baqir also emphasized that important initiatives are under discussion with stakeholders on Common Know Your Customer framework—which will enable Financial Institutions to share KYC information with customer consent, to improve customers’ digital journey—and Open Banking.
READ MORE: SBP imposes penalty of Rs58 million on five banks
The event also included a panel discussion moderated by Ms. Tania Aidrus, Co-founder of The Rayn Group, with Sopnendu Mohanty, Chief Fintech Officer of Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), Omer Ismail, Incoming Chief Executive Officer of ONE and Mamoon Hamid, Managing Member and General Partner at Kleiner Perkins as panelists.
The panelists highlighted the real potential and opportunities of digital banks globally for international players including fintechs, startups, venture capitalists etc. and deliberated on various aspects of the regulatory challenges. The subject matter experts highlighted that innovation in the financial sector is largely led by the combined efforts of a regulator and other relevant players.
READ MORE: SBP slaps Rs280 million penalty on National Bank
Appreciating the flexibility of ‘SBP’s Licensing and Regulatory Framework for Digital Banks,’ which accommodates a range of investors independently or in collaboration, the panelists were of the view that the incoming players can benefit from opportunities presented by Pakistan and make a tangible and significant increase in meaningful financial inclusion.
The panel was confident that digital banks will become an essential part of the financial ecosystem and provide people with the access to a wider range of financial services, and advance the broader agenda of financial inclusion.
-
SBP issues KIBOR rates on March 04, 2022
KARACHI: State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Friday issued the Karachi Interbank Offered Rates (KIBOR) as of March 04, 2022.
Following are the latest KIBOR rates:
Tenor BID OFFER 1 – Week 9.74 10.24 2 – Week 9.79 10.29 1 – Month 9.89 10.39 3 – Month 10.47 10.72 6 – Month 10.86 11.11 9 – Month 10.91 11.41 1 – Year 10.94 11.44 -
Customers’ exchange rates on March 04, 2022
KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Friday issued customers’ exchange rates for March 04, 2022. The exchange rate is on the basis of weighted average rates of commercial banks.
The SBP said the data is compiled and disseminated for information only. These exchange rates are estimates that quoted by various commercial banks to their clients.
The banks provide their indicative exchange rates for commercial transactions with customers.
CURRENCY BUYING SELLING AED 48.3186 48.4296 AUD 130.4228 130.7193 CAD 139.7097 140.0212 CHF 193.0451 193.4980 CNY 28.0844 28.1449 EUR 195.6394 196.1022 GBP 236.6375 237.1818 JPY 1.5358 1.5393 SAR 47.2755 47.3829 USD 177.3505 177.7733 -
Pakistan’s forex reserves decline to $22.875 billion
KARACHI: Pakistan’s total liquid foreign exchange reserves have declined by $351 million to $22.875 billion by week ended February 25, 2022.
The foreign exchange reserves of the country were at $23.226 billion a week ago i.e. February 18, 2022, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said on Thursday.
The official reserves of the central bank fell by $344 million to $16.462 billion by week ended February 25, 2022 as compared with $16.806 billion a week ago.
The foreign exchange reserves held by commercial banks also eased by $7 million to $6.413 billion by week ended February 25, 2022 as compared with $6.420 billion a week ago.
-
SBP issues KIBOR rates on March 03, 2022
KARACHI: State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Thursday issued the Karachi Interbank Offered Rates (KIBOR) as of March 03, 2022.
Following are the latest KIBOR rates:
Tenor BID OFFER 1 – Week 9.72 10.22 2 – Week 9.78 10.28 1 – Month 9.88 10.38 3 – Month 10.45 10.70 6 – Month 10.83 11.08 9 – Month 10.88 11.38 1 – Year 10.90 11.41