The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has concluded the first cohort of its Regulatory Sandbox, launched in August 2025 under SBP Vision 2028.
“The first cohort focused on three themes: technology-enabled solutions for inward remittances, open banking, and remote onboarding of merchants,” said SBP in a statement on Tuesday.
The central bank said that six participants were shortlisted and invited to test their solutions in the sandbox from January to June 2026. “Throughout the cohort, SBP teams provided necessary support and regulatory guidance to the participants,” it said.
According to SBP, four participants successfully demonstrated their solutions: Taptap Send UK Limited & United Bank Limited (UBL) for remittances, and Digi Khata, Swich Retail, and Neem Exponential Financial Services for open banking.
“It must be mentioned that successful completion of sandbox testing does not imply regulatory approval, and successful participants must obtain proper authorisation and approval from SBP before the commercial launch of their product or service that was tested in the Sandbox,” it said.
“Going forward, SBP anticipates that the Regulatory Sandbox will continue to facilitate industry players, including fintechs and banks for development and introduction of innovative, practical, user-centric, and technology-enabled solutions for expanding the financial services’ outreach and improving efficiency and user experience,” it added.
Comments