State Bank of Pakistan unveils first cohort of regulatory sandbox applicants

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has revealed the shortlisted applicants for the first cohort of its regulatory sandbox, including three financial companies that applied under the theme Open Banking.

The SBP unveiled its regulatory sandbox with the intention to “foster innovation in digital financial services”, with the issuance of guidelines in May 2025.

The first cohort was invited to apply in August last year, under themes including technology-enabled solutions for inward remittances, Open Banking, and remote onboarding of merchants.

The SBP said it received “strong interest” in its sandbox from regulated financial institutions, as well as domestic and international fintech companies.

Neem Exponential Financial Services Private Ltd, Digi Khata (SMC-Private) Limited, and Switch Retail Private Limited have been named as successful Open Banking applicants, and will now be able to test their proposed solutions under the sandbox.

The other successful sandbox applicants are the Bank of Punjab, which comes under the remote onboarding of merchants theme, as well as Barq Fintech and Taptap Send UK Limited & United Bank Limited, both of which applied as technology-enabled solutions for inward remittances.

The participants will be able to test their solutions within a controlled live environment for up to six months.

In a post on LinkedIn, Ali Hussnain Babar, deputy director at the SBP, said that being part of the SBP Regulatory Sandbox team had been “a rewarding experience”.

“The strong response from industry stakeholders reflects the growing momentum of Pakistan’s digital payment ecosystem. This sandbox marks an important step towards enabling safe experimentation, evidence-based regulation, and user-centric financial innovation,” he said.