The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has launched an upgraded payment and settlement system named PRISM+.
The institution previously rolled out RAAST, Pakistan’s instant payment system. With this new launch, the country’s retail and large-value payment systems and other infrastructure will be based on the latest ISO standard.
Digitalisation of payment infrastructure in Pakistan
The financial landscape in Pakistan is quickly digitising across payments, fintech, ecommerce, and banking. The SBP sees development that drives change both in service delivery and consumer satisfaction and preferences. The recent digitalisation of the ecosystem is especially apparent in the emergence of RAAST, a retail payment infrastructure.
RAAST is the country’s first instant payment system, enabling digital payments amongst individuals, businesses, and government entities instantly. As the country has over 96 million unique bank account owners and digital wallet holders, RTGS (Real Time Gross Settlement), a system for transferring large sums of money between banks in real time, is key, according to SBP. It ensures liquidity and supports the implementation of monetary policy through OMO, minimising financial disruption risks.
PRISM, the RTGS used in Pakistan, processed transactions worth USD 3.68 trillion, which is ten times more than the country’s GDP. This reflects PRISM’s support for the broader financial industry, especially the business community. The system is built on the ISO 2022 financial messaging standard, supporting data-rich financial communications.
Additionally, PRISM+ offers improved transparency, interoperability, and automation across the payment and settlement journey. The platform introduces features, such as liquidity management tools for fund flow, and it took 14 months to complete and launch. SBP believes that PRISM+ is a technical system, as well as a strategic asset to protect financial stability and support digital innovation. The bank aimed to create a system that could rise to global standards of best practice and enable it to expand its digital payment infrastructure, focusing on security and compliance.
