SBP gives in-principle, pilot operations approvals to EMIs and PSOs

KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan has given in-principle approval to Toko Lab Private Limited and Accept Technologies Private Limited (PayMob) for establishing as an electronic money institution (EMI) and payment system operator (PSO)/payment service provider (PSP) respectively, a statement said on Tuesday.

The EMI and PSO/PSP will now develop their infrastructure and readiness within six months for applying to the SBP for permission to initiate pilot operations.

The SBP has also granted approval to HubPay Private Limited for initiating pilot operations as an EMI after assessing its readiness to initiate pilot operations.

Now, four EMIs namely NayaPay, Finja, SadaPay and Akhtar Fuiou Technologies are in commercial operations, three EMIs namely Wemsol, E-Processing System and HubPay are in pilot operations, whereas three EMIs namely YAP, Cerisma, and Toko Lab have in-principle approval for establishing their readiness for pilot operations.

As of September 30, 2024, EMIs have opened 4.2 million wallets, issued 4.6 million payment cards and have outstanding e-money deposits of Rs5.7 billion. On a year-on-year basis, the e-money wallets have increased 76.5 per cent, cards issuance by 41.4 per cent, and e-money deposits by 87.5 per cent. Further, during the first three quarters -- January to September 2024 -- a total of 82.1 million payments were made through e-wallets offered by EMIs amounting to Rs231.9 billion, showing a significant growth of 117 per cent and 163 per cent respectively as compared to the corresponding period last year.