KARACHI: The Arab Monetary Fund (AMF) and the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to facilitate cross-border remittances between the Arab region and Pakistan.
According to a joint statement issued by SBP and AMF, Dr Abdulrahman Bin Abdullah Al Hamidy, Director General Chairman of the Board of AMF, and Jameel Ahmad, Governor SBP signed a MoU in a ceremony hosted by the Arab Monetary Fund (AMF) on Friday in Abu Dhabi.
The MoU is signed to establish a framework of cooperation between Buna, the cross-border payment system operated by Arab Regional Payments Clearing and Settlement Organization “ARPCSO”, owned by AMF, and Raast, Pakistan’s Instant Payment System.
Buna is the cross-border payment system operated by the Arab Regional Payments Clearing and Settlement Organization “ARPCSO,” which is owned by The Arab Monetary Fund “AMF.” While, SBP “Raast” Instant Payment System is a transformational initiative that is built on state-of-the-art international standard ISO 20022 and promises to be a simple, free, fast, interoperable, and a secure payment option for customers.
Pakistan’s remittances clock in at $2.2bn in September, 5.5% higher on monthly basis
The integration of Raast with Buna aims to facilitate Cross-border Remittances between the Arab region and Pakistan through formal channels. This initiative will benefit individuals as well as businesses not only through instant, safe and cost-effective cross border payments, but also by strengthening economic, financial, and investment ties between the Arab countries and Pakistan.
Commenting on this MoU, Dr Abdulrahman Bin Abdullah Al Hamidy, Director General Chairman AMF and Chairman of the Board of ARPCSO, said that this strategic collaboration with Raast underscores Buna’s commitment to continue connecting different regions together and reinforcing economic, financial, and investment ties between the Arab region and its main global partners.
This resonates with the shared vision of innovating cross-border payment solutions to offer safe and efficient cross-border instant payments access for individuals and corporates, he said.
“We also aim to increase cross-border remittances by reducing costs and processing times, this initiative confirms the global character of Buna which adheres to the highest compliance standards to connect the Arab region with its main global partners in line with the vision of its founders, their Excellencies in the Council of Central Bank Governors. On this occasion, we would like to thank the governor of the State Bank of Pakistan and his colleagues for their instrumental support to this initiative”, he added.
Speaking on the occasion, Jameel Ahmad, Governor SBP said that this MoU is a significant strategic achievement that opens the door to closer connection between Pakistan and the Arab region.
He said that this collaboration between SBP and AMF is in line with our vision to leverage cross border integrations to complement the objective of building an innovative Digital Financial Services ecosystem”
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023