State Bank of Pakistan has temporarily waived off the One Time Password (OTP)/Call Back Confirmation (CBC) requirement till 10 May 2023 to facilitate the opening of Asaan Mobile Account (AMA).
The customer will have to conduct a NADRA biometric verification (BVS) on the first cash-in or cash-out, whichever is earlier, but no later than sixty (60) days of account opening.
In case of failure to conduct BVS within the stipulated time, the account shall be treated as debit blocked after serving ten (10) days prior notice/ intimation to the customers.
The banks will be required to put a robust monitoring mechanism in place to evaluate and mitigate any possible risks (fraudulent instances including layering of accounts, SIM swapping, etc.) on AMA and submit a monthly report to the designated office of the SBP of the recorded fraudulent suspicious transactions.
The AMA with low KYC requirements and low transaction limits. There are over 5.7 million AMA accounts recorded in the banking system till October 2022. These accounts witnessed financial transactions of over 7 million worth Rs. 42.9 billion.
Through the Asaan Mobile Account (AMA) platform, any Pakistani holding a valid CNIC can open a bank account digitally in any AMA participating bank, from anywhere, at any time by using the SIM of any mobile operator. The scheme allows individuals to access the AMA platform using a short code i.e *2262# and make transactions, through their basic/smart mobile phone without the need for internet connectivity.
Asaan Mobile Account (AMA) platform was an initiative undertaken by SBP and Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), in collaboration with branchless banking (BB) providers, telecom operators, and other development partners.
The AMA platform has been launched under the National Financial Inclusion Strategy (NFIS) that aims to facilitate the general masses, especially the low-income segments, to digitally open their BB accounts and use the available financial services in a swift, easy and affordable manner.
There are 13 branchless banking (BB) provider banks available on the AMA platform. Customers can open bank accounts instantaneously in any of the given bank and conduct transactions available on the AMA Platform.
