KARACHI - State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has issued rules for payment system operators (PSOs) and payment service providers (PSPs) to promote competitive environment and transparency within the payments market and with the objective of standardization and setting benchmark guidelines. PSOs and PSPs are considered as one of the important components of the financial markets infrastructure (FMI) of any country and include businesses engaged in providing payment systems related services acting as intermediary to route, process, and/or verify payment transactions, said SBP statement here on Thursday.
PSOs and PSPs ensure efficient, convenient and secure processing of payments transactions.
Examples of PSOs and PSPs may include but are not limited to switch operators, electronic payment gateway service providers, E-commerce gateway service providers, point of sale (POS) gateway service providers, remittance gateway service providers and automated/ electronic clearing houses. These rules would also promote the development of strategic initiatives in Pakistan such as improving the outreach of financial services to the unbanked and the under banked communities, saving foreign exchange and providing an enabling environment for the business community as a whole.