Karachi: Karandaaz Pakistan, a leading development finance firm championing financial inclusion and digital transformation in Pakistan, convened the first roundtable session on Open Banking. The event brought together industry stakeholders, including senior representatives from regulators, banks, fintechs, and technology platforms. Recently, Karandaaz Pakistan issued a white paper exploring the advantages of open banking and its prospects in Pakistan.
Held in Karachi, the roundtable session marked the commencement of a series of activities designed to gather insights and recommendations from industry players. Participants included senior figures from the State Bank of Pakistan, Bank Alfalah Limited, Meezan Bank, Daraz, Haball, Keenu, Tapsys, SadaPay, 1LINK, National Institutional Facilitation Technologies (NIFT), Blinq, Digital Miles, Tasdeeq Pakistan, Allied Bank Limited, and Mashreq Bank.
Mr. Sharjeel Murtaza, Director for Digital Financial Services at Karandaaz, opened the session, emphasizing the need for a consumer-centric approach in the success of Open Banking. He highlighted the importance of making consumer data portable while ensuring security and privacy. Mr. Murtaza expressed Karandaaz’s commitment to supporting the enablement of an Open Banking ecosystem, citing its potential to lower barriers to accessing financial services and fostering innovation, especially in light of the success of Raast.
In his keynote address, Mr. Sohail Javaad, Executive Director for Digital Financial Services Group at the State Bank of Pakistan, underscored the significance of data in today’s age. He emphasized that Open Banking has the potential to enhance the customer journey and optimize banking services according to customer needs. Mr. Javaad highlighted the need for a consent management architecture (CMA) to ensure customer data protection, emphasizing that cost savings and revenue generated from open banking should benefit the customer. He also stressed the importance of reciprocity between ecosystem actors.
Karandaaz representatives briefed industry experts on the Open Banking concept’s salient features, and participants provided feedback on the best-suited model for Pakistan. Discussions covered data-sharing protocols, pricing models, account-linking mechanisms, and customer protection. The roundtable session is part of a broader initiative to foster conversation and move towards implementing Open Banking in Pakistan. Further engagements and activities will follow to drive progress in this area.
