Is Pakistan launching digital currency?

After excellent development in digital banking, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) plans to establish a digital currency in the future, according to The News on Friday.

Shoukat Bizinjo, Additional Director of the Central Bank’s Digital Financial Services Group, stated that a huge number of central banks throughout the world, including Pakistan’s, is researching CBBCs (callable bull/bear contracts) in order to establish digital currency in their respective countries.

Speaking at the 16th International Conference on Mobile Commerce 2023, Bizinjo stated, “Pakistan’s central bank is reviewing and consulting with other central banks in this regard (CBBCs and digital currency).”

They are leveraged investments that track the performance of underlying assets without forcing investors to pay the full purchase price. According to Bizinjo, the SBP is also in talks with local industrial actors about introducing digital currency.

He stated that Electronic Money Institutions (EMIs) have achieved significant advances in e-banking with the introduction of e-money wallets for customers and merchants, as well as other digital payment instruments such as prepaid cards and contactless payment instruments.

The country currently has four active commercial EMIs: NayaPak, Finja, CMPECC, and Sada Tech Pakistan. As of March 31, 2023, EMIs had an outstanding e-money balance of Rs2 billion and managed 1.6 million e-money wallets and 2.4 million payment cards.

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