SBP launches new digital fund transfers solution Raast

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Thursday issued instructions to banks to enable Person-to-Person (P2P) fund transfers in the country via its instant payment system Raast, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.

Raast offers an instant, reliable and zero-cost digital payment system to the people. SBP believes that the launch of Raast P2P service will not only provide a convenient and hassle free digital funds transfer service to customers but also provide an efficient and enabling payments infrastructure that would pave the way for digitisation of the economy and promotion of digital financial services in the country.

An explanatory video has been provided by SBP on YouTube and SBP’s website that explains the public how to make payments and transfer funds using Raast in simple terms.  Under Raast's P2P fund transfers and settlement services, bank customers would be able to send and receive funds in their accounts using their bank’s mobile application, internet banking or over the counter services.

For customers’ facilitation, they can set their registered mobile phone number as their Raast ID and link it to their preferred International Bank Account Number (IBAN) using the bank’s mobile application, internet banking, or visiting their bank branch.

After the customers set their mobile phone number as the Raast ID, others can send money using their mobile phone number without the need to know the account number or any other details.   Bank customers can still use Raast service for sending or receiving funds using their IBANs even if they do not have a Raast ID or prefer to use their IBAN.  

SBP has directed all banks to make Raast service available on at least three customer channels including mobile applications, internet banking, and branch counters. It has also directed banks to ensure that funds successfully transferred through Raast should be credited into the recipients’ accounts within 20 seconds of receiving the credit advice from the system.

In order to promote the use of digital financial services in the country, banks have been advised not to levy any charges on Raast related services and all transactions would be free for end customers.  To facilitate banks in this regard, SBP will also offer free of cost Raast services to banks. Further, to facilitate their customers, banks shall not assign minimum transaction size. In general, banks shall allow maximum transaction limits of Rs200,000 per transaction or higher depending on the bank’s assessment of the risk profile of the customer.

For particular account types where the SBP has prescribed limits from time to time, the maximum transaction limit could be lower than Rs200,000 per transaction. SBP has advised banks to provide a smooth, convenient and hassle-free user experience to their customers using Raast.

Banks are required to ensure continuous and uninterrupted availability of all channels on which Raast services are being offered. For this purpose, banks shall strengthen their Service Level Agreements (SLAs) with their vendors and service providers. Banks have also been advised to ensure availability of fully equipped 24/7 Network Operations Centre (NOC), Security Operations Centre (SOC) and call centre/helpdesk fully equipped with agents who are well versed with Raast functionality, and an effective customer complaints and disputes resolution mechanism for timely resolution of customer issues.

Banks have also been advised to take all measures to encourage their customers to use Raast services and facilitate them in its usage. In this regard, they shall ensure that customer awareness messages are broadcasted through SMS, emails and digital/social media platforms.

The enabling instructions for Raast’s person-to-person transfers have been issued to all banks, electronic money institutions, payment system operators (PSOs) and payment system providers (PSPs) to mark the second phase of the rollout of the instant payment system.

Raast is being developed in collaboration with Karandaaz, Pakistan and introduced in phases. The first phase of Raast, Bulk Payments, was launched by the Prime Minister Imran Khan in January 2021. With the launch of Raast, Pakistan joined a select club of countries who have either launched or are in the process of launching instant payment systems. Raast is fully owned and operated by SBP.