Centralised Gateway Portal on cards
Segregation of client assets is critical as brokers have been penalised for using client money illegally. PHOTO: AFP
In its drive towards digitalising the economy, Pakistan is scheduled to launch the Centralised Gateway Portal (CGP) next week to enable investors to open centralised digital accounts in five minutes and work in different assets across domestic capital markets.
Speaking at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) this week, Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) Chairman Akif Saeed said the apex regulatory body was scheduled to launch the CGP at the Central Depository Company (CDC) next week.
“The idea is that one should be able to open an account in the insurance sector…with initial funds or with a brokerage house within five minutes,” he said at the launch of banking sector exchange-traded fund (ETF) by JS Global at the PSX on Thursday this week.
The portal will enable investors to open and maintain one account but work across all SECP-regulated entities like stockbrokers, futures brokers, insurance companies and asset management companies (AMCs) like mutual funds.
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The portal will acquire basic information once from an investor under the Know Your Customer (KYC) process, while the investor can expand into different assets from time to time.
Saeed said the gateway was being launched as a joint effort with the CDC and supported by the PSX and National Clearing Company of Pakistan Limited (NCCPL).
Secondly, he said, the SECP was opening its Regulatory Sandbox (RSB) for 24 hours and seven days a week to welcome business ideas from industry experts round the clock. Earlier, the RSB was opened once in a year over the last four years.
A statement elaborated that in order to broaden its outreach, the SECP had restructured its RSB from a cohort-based system to open status, allowing applicants, including fintech and start-ups, to apply the year round. Applications will be received in three streams – Islamic finance, conventional finance and women-specific trades.
For the convenience of applicants, the SECP has developed a comprehensive, self-explanatory application format and diagnostic tool. These formats are available at the Sandbox section of the SECP website.
The restructuring of the sandbox was required to reflect its maturity and the lessons learnt in more than three years of its operations. The open status will ensure continuity in partnerships and allow applicants to approach the RSB at the right point in their development lifecycle.
Launched in 2019, the SECP received a good response from a wide range of innovators including well-established entities, foreign companies, start-ups and fintech. To date, 128 applications have been received in the four cohorts announced.
The most recent Cohort IV accepted applications in May and June 2023. Out of the 26 applications received in the fourth cohort, the SECP has allowed 11 applicants to start testing. Participants will embark on a six-month testing period from December 1, 2023.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 17th, 2023.
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