Karachi (Newsman): By March 2025, banks and financial institutions will be required by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to implement the RAAST payment system in online retail and e-commerce sites.
Consequently, banks will make RAAST P2M digital payment acceptance services available to these businesses already members of the banking system.
The circular stated, “It has been decided that all REs shall ensure that their existing account-holders providing in-store and/or online shopping services to their customers are enabled with digital payment acceptance services as per the aforementioned Circular by March 31, 2025.”
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As part of their onboarding procedure, banks and financial institutions were also instructed by the banking authority to ensure that all new merchants and enterprises were enabled with the this service.
The circular said that REs can either engage with a current SBP-regulated EMI/PSO/PSP or directly integrate with RAAST P2M to offer these services.
This service is expected to quicken Pakistan’s corporate and merchant transaction digitization.
In this regard, it has been determined that all REs must allow the following features to conduct P2M transactions through their delivery channels, which include USSD channels, internet banking sites, and mobile apps.
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SBP introduced an interoperable RAAST P2M service as part of the RAAST implementation effort to help enterprises and merchants accept digital payments.
Businesses will be able to take payments utilizing Quick Response (QR) Codes, RAAST Alias, IBAN, and Request to Pay (RTP) thanks to the P2M service.
