More than 100 banking sector CXOs attended a session organized by the Pakistan Banks Association focused on Pakistan’s Digital Public Infrastructure, with particular emphasis on WASL, the country’s National Data Exchange Layer. The session was led by Dr. Sahibzada Ali Mahmud, former Managing Director and CEO of KPITB, who presented to bank executives on how secure, consent-based data exchange systems could support banking-specific use cases and help extend access to financial services across the country.
The discussion centered on how banks could use a national data exchange layer like WASL to streamline processes that currently depend on fragmented or manual data sharing between institutions, government bodies, and other financial service providers. For banks, this kind of infrastructure could translate into faster verification processes, more efficient credit assessments, and expanded ability to reach customers who remain outside the formal banking system due to limited documentation or data trails. The session also drew comparisons to Brazil’s Open Finance ecosystem and its instant payment system, Pix, which have been widely referenced internationally as examples of how consent-based data sharing and real-time payment rails can reshape banking access and competition when built on shared national infrastructure.
Participants from the banking sector raised questions and offered feedback during the session, which organizers said helped connect the practical needs of banks with the ongoing development of the country’s digital infrastructure. Mahmud thanked the Pakistan Banks Association and attendees for what he described as an engaging exchange, noting that CXO-level input from banks is important in shaping how systems like WASL are eventually integrated into day-to-day banking operations. For banks specifically, engagement of this kind is often seen as a way to influence how national data infrastructure is designed before it becomes a mandatory or widely adopted part of core banking processes.
WASL’s reference architecture and related technical instruments have been made publicly available for banks and other stakeholders to review here. No timeline was given for when banks might begin formal integration with the data exchange layer, or which specific banking use cases would be prioritized first, though the session was framed as an early step in building alignment between the banking sector and Pakistan’s broader digital public infrastructure efforts.
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