Standard Chartered Empowers Pakistan’s SMEs with Global Growth via Forex Solutions
Standard Chartered Bank hosted a focused client engagement event bringing together leading SME businesses to explore strategic approaches to managing cross-border growth.
Editor
State Bank of Pakistan Keeps Interest Rate Unchanged at 10.5%
State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) kept the policy rate unchanged at 10.5 percent owing to rising inflation expectations and widening trade gap and current account deficit.
BankIslami Launches Pakistan’s First Shariah-Compliant Raast QR Payment Gateway
Pakistan’s first digital Islamic banking platform, ‘aik’ by BankIslami, has launched aikPay— Pakistan’s first Shariah-compliant Raast-enabled QR Payment Gateway. Built on the State Bank of Pakistan’s Raast infrastructure, aikPay enables real-time online payments through dynamic QR codes, allowing customers to pay instantly from their bank accounts and enabling merchants to receive payments securely through a smooth checkout experience.
Mehfooz
CAT dismisses banks’ appeals, upholds CCP’s Rs.205M penalties in ESA Cartel Case
The CCP had imposed a penalty of PKR 30 million on the PBA and PKR 25 million each on Habib Bank Limited, Allied Bank Limited, MCB Bank Limited, United Bank Limited, Saudi Pak Bank Limited, Atlas Bank Limited, and National Bank Limited.
UBL & AUTON8 Successfully Complete Core Banking Data Migration for 105 Ex‑Silk Bank Branches
United Bank Limited (UBL) has successfully completed a large-scale core banking data migration with AUTON8 in six months, transitioning data from Ex-Silkbank’s Temenos T24 core banking system to UBL’s Symbols platform.
Karachi Hosts AlBaraka Forum on Future of Digital Islamic Economy
AlBaraka Forum for Islamic Economy is organizing the sixth edition of its Regional Conference Series, titled “Islamic Economy in the Digital Age: Innovation within the Framework of Compliance.”
Adil Aziz
ABHI Microfinance Bank Partners with Pathfinder Group to Drive Agent Interoperability and Wage Access Innovation
ABHI Microfinance Bank Limited (“ABHI Bank”) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Pathfinder Group to establish a strategic collaboration centered on agent interoperability, enabling wider access to formal financial services for underserved and frontline segments across Pakistan.
Smaller Pakistani banks among top return performers in Asia-Pacific: S&P Global
Smaller Pakistani banks delivered some of the highest total returns to investors across the Asia-Pacific region in 2025, buoyed by a strong rally in local equity markets and improving macroeconomic indicators, according to an analysis by S&P Global Market Intelligence.
VEON Group Invests USD 20 Million in Mobilink Bank to Accelerate Digital Islamic Banking Expansion
Global digital operator VEON Group has announced an investment of USD 20 million in Mobilink Bank to support its growth and digital Islamic banking expansion in Pakistan. The investment builds on USD 15 million capital deployed by VEON in January 2025 and underscores its confidence in Mobilink Bank’s growth momentum and its integrated digital financial…
PBA: Banks Drive Economic Revival with Rs 1.5 Trillion Private Sector Lending; SME Portfolio Surges 41%, Agri Disbursements Jump 16%
Commercial banks have extended approximately Rs 1.5 trillion in financing to the private sector in FY26, a surge in liquidity that is driving 8.33% growth in Large-Scale Manufacturing (LSM), validating the sector’s pivotal role in supporting industrial output and job creation.