KARACHI – The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has now devised a comprehensive ‘Customers’ Digital Onboarding Framework’, which will facilitate banks and Microfinance Banks (MFBs) to conveniently and remotely open bank accounts of resident Pakistanis by using digital channels including websites/portal, mobile applications, digital kiosks etc.
“With the rapid growth in adoption of electronic banking channels, especially amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, the demand from bank and customers for digital financial transactions have increased manifold,” the central bank said in a statement.
The framework in general provides a convenient way for all segments of society for opening bank accounts, it specifically enables freelancers, self-employed or unemployed women, and recipient of remittances from abroad to open bank account digitally with minimum documentation requirements, SBP said.
While typically accounts can be opened as either Savings or Current Account, the framework identifies four categories on the basis of functional limits such as deposit or withdrawal limits, fund transfer limits etc and the documents required for opening an account.
These categories include ‘Asaan Digital Account’; ‘Asaan Digital Remittance Account’; ‘Freelancer Digital Account’; and the ‘Digital Account.’
The first category is the easiest to open requiring very basic information and the least number of documents albeit with some limits on functionality. The last category, i.e. Digital Account is without any functional restriction but needs more information for account opening.
SBP has instructed banks under this framework to ensure that decision to open or decline these accounts do not take more than two working days from the day of completion of all the requirements while ensuring availability of customer support services 24/7 for customer facilitation.
Moreover, banks/ MFBs will also be required to provide a tracking number to the applicant for following up on the status updates.
SBP has advised the banking industry to implement this framework by December 31, 2021.
It hopes that this initiative will help promote digitization of banking services in the country apart from achieving the financial inclusion objectives.
