Pakistan is set to take a major step toward improving access to basic banking services, especially in underserved and remote areas, after the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) allowed banks, microfinance banks, and fintech operators to adopt agent interoperability.
This move will allow customers to use a wider network of branchless banking agents to carry out basic financial transactions, making banking more accessible for people who currently lack easy access to formal financial services.
Under this arrangement, banks and microfinance banks will be able to connect with agents from different branchless banking networks. This means customers will no longer be limited to a single network and can use these shared agents to perform basic banking services.
The SBP has encouraged financial institutions to join this system to speed up financial inclusion across the country. As part of this initiative, the regulator has authorized a PSP/PSO operator, Virtual Remittance Gateway, to develop and operate a backend system for this platform. The system has already completed pilot operations with Easypaisa as the acquirer and HBL Connect as the issuer in recent months.
The agent interoperability network is being described as a game-changer for Pakistan’s financial ecosystem. It is expected to expand access points for financial services, particularly in underserved regions, reduce the duplication of agent networks, lower operational costs, and allow customers to transfer funds smoothly across different networks.
According to the SBP, there are more than 756,480 registered branchless banking agents across Pakistan, operating through 14 branchless banking providers. In comparison, the country has over 19,000 bank branches belonging to 42 commercial and microfinance banks.
The regulator has now allowed financial institutions to adopt the agent interoperability platform on a commercial basis.
Banks and microfinance banks have also described this model as a catalyst for building a more inclusive financial ecosystem in Pakistan. The platform will connect banks, microfinance banks, digital banks, and fintech operators through a single network.
Commenting on the development, ABHI Microfinance Bank’s Chief Commercial Officer, Mariam Pervaiz, said that agent interoperability is a critical building block for financial inclusion in Pakistan. She added that this model will allow microfinance banks to expand access to banking services by using shared infrastructure.
Meanwhile, Muhammad Salman Ali, CEO of Virtual Remittance Gateway, said that the interoperability platform is built on modular, cloud-native middleware technology, providing secure, end-to-end transaction processing. He added that the new system will help accelerate financial inclusion and support the growth of an inclusive digital economy.
بینکنگ سسٹم۔۔۔۔۔آن لائن سسٹم اور ملازمین زیادہ تر تو بیٹھ ہی جاتے ہیں یا رہتے ہیں۔
ایس ایم ایس سروس باوجود حکم کے چارجز کیے جا رہے ہیں۔
اے ٹی ایم مشینز خراب ہی رہتی ہیں۔
کوئی سسٹم میں خرابی آ جائے تو پورا ایک دن ٹھیک ہونے میں لگ جاتا ہے۔
بینکنگ سسٹم صرف صارفین پر دھونس چلاتے ہیں اور پریشان کرتے ہیں۔ ککھ خود کو کچھ معلوم نہیں ہوتا۔
there is zero effort of sbp, banks innovating of their own, you can visit any sbp branch in major city and you will see you are not even allowed to bring your mobile phone. Ok its security reason but to date you have to go through complete manual process to claim prize bond with unnecessary photo copy of prize bond, claim from etc, which can easily be skipped with person ID card number and bank account and i just give one example.
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