Regulation of Branchless Banking in Pakistan
This update of CGAP’s 2007 "Notes on Regulation of Branchless Banking in Pakistan" incorporates research conducted by the CGAP in February 2010. It is one of eleven country updates produced by CGAP as a part of the G20 Access Through Innovation (ATI) Sub-Group’s workplan.
The paper states that the Government of Pakistan has taken significant steps to create a legal and regulatory environment to support bank-led branchless banking. The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) issued Branchless Banking Regulations on March 31, 2008, which set out ground rules for entry into and participation in the branchless banking market. The SBP decided to initially allow only bank-led models, and urged commercial banks and microfinance banks to offer branchless banking. In October 2009, Telenor Pakistan, a major mobile telephone service provider and Tameer Micro Finance Bank, launched the EasyPaisa branchless banking platform. The paper discusses:
- Major market players;
- EasyPaisa;
- Current legal platform for branchless banking;
- Use of agents;
- Anti-money-laundering/combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) regulations;
- E-money;
- Payment systems;
- Consumer protection;
- Minimum technology standards;
- Pakistan Remittance Initiative.
