Farooq Awan

Pakistan has taken a decisive step toward a fully digital economy as the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) formally established Raast Payments Pakistan (Pvt) Ltd and introduced PRISM+, the country’s upgraded real-time settlement system.

The two initiatives, unveiled during fiscal year 2024-25, form part of SBP’s ongoing strategy to expand the national payments ecosystem, reduce cash dependence, and align domestic systems with international best practices.

According to the Governor’s Annual Report 2024-25, Raast Payments Pakistan has been set up as a wholly owned SBP subsidiary dedicated to managing, governing, and developing Pakistan’s instant-payments platform. The central bank said the separate corporate structure will ensure operational agility, technological scalability, and a stronger governance framework as transaction volumes rise sharply with digitalization of the economy. The new entity will be responsible for maintaining the Raast network’s reliability, expanding its reach to additional financial institutions, and embedding security standards required for high-value and retail digital payments.

The report noted that FY25 was a defining year for Pakistan’s payments landscape. In parallel with Raast’s institutionalization, the SBP introduced the Pakistan Real-Time Interbank Settlement Mechanism Plus (PRISM+), replacing the older RTGS infrastructure that had served for over a decade. PRISM+ has been developed with a significantly higher processing capacity and incorporates the SBP’s first Central Securities Depository (CSD) within the central bank itself. The new platform allows the real-time settlement of both funds and securities on a delivery-versus-payment basis, thereby reducing systemic risk and improving efficiency across financial markets.

PRISM+ also introduces multiple innovative features that enable straight-through processing of government securities, enhanced queue-management algorithms, and intraday liquidity facilities for participating institutions. The central bank emphasized that these upgrades would enhance financial-market infrastructure and bolster confidence among investors and intermediaries. By providing seamless interoperability between the CSD and the payment-settlement engine, PRISM+ ensures faster turnover of funds and improved cash-flow management for banks, corporates, and government entities.

The SBP further reported that during FY25 it launched a Regulatory Sandbox Framework to encourage controlled experimentation with emerging payment products and services. The sandbox enables fintech companies, banks, and other innovators to test solutions under regulatory oversight before large-scale deployment. This approach, the report explained, will help the SBP keep pace with rapid technological change while protecting consumers and the financial system.

Demonstrating early progress, digital-payment acceptance solutions were implemented at major cattle markets across the country during Eid-ul-Azha 2025. This pilot project allowed livestock sellers and buyers to transact through QR-code and mobile-based payments instead of cash, an unprecedented move in Pakistan’s informal economy. The success of this initiative encouraged the expansion of digital-acceptance infrastructure to other retail segments and to government-payment portals.

The SBP said it also continued the digitization of public-sector transactions, including tax receipts and welfare payments, through Raast and other electronic channels. These efforts, alongside reforms in exchange-company operations, are expected to reduce cash handling, improve transparency, and lower the cost of financial intermediation. The report highlighted that by modernizing payment rails, Pakistan would lay the foundation for broader financial inclusion and efficient capital circulation.

Economically, the modern payments framework is intended to complement the SBP’s disinflationary and fiscal-consolidation objectives by improving money-supply management and reducing idle liquidity outside the banking system. With currency-in-circulation still elevated amid regional uncertainty, electronic alternatives such as Raast and PRISM+ are expected to channel more transactions through formal networks, expanding deposit mobilization and credit capacity.

The report described the digital-finance initiatives as integral to Pakistan’s macro-financial stability. Strengthening settlement systems reduces counterparty risk and ensures that monetary-policy signals transmit smoothly through financial markets. In the long term, the SBP aims to integrate PRISM+ with cross-border settlement links and to use Raast for government-to-person (G2P) and person-to-government (P2G) payments, which together represent a substantial portion of daily cash usage.

Credit: INP-WealthPk