SBP fully digitises forex approval system

Forex-focused scheme lends support to ease of doing business in Pakistan

KARACHI:

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has completed the digitisation of the Regulatory Approval System (RAS) for foreign exchange cases to lend support to ease of doing business in Pakistan. In a statement on Monday, the central bank pointed out that it initiated the process of end-to-end digitalisation of foreign exchange cases with an objective to enhance ease of doing business in the country.

The scheme is envisaged to provide a fully digitalised platform to the business community and individuals, who are approaching banks to lodge their foreign exchange-related requests with the SBP. The project was divided into two phases, it said. In the first phase, banks were linked with the SBP FX RAS on March 24, 2020 which enabled banks to submit foreign exchangerelated cases electronically for regulatory approval of the SBP and SBP-Banking Services Corporation (BSC), it said.

The system has embedded features of providing transparent case tracking mechanisms through emails to customers and case status information option on the SBP website. “This initiative significantly enhanced operational efficiency and resulted in cost reduction, improved transparency and led to faster decisionmaking at the SBP and banks,” the central bank highlighted.