SBP notifies NIFT as designated payment system operator

The State Bank of Pakistan has formally notified National Institutional Facilitation Technologies, known as NIFT, as a designated payment system operator. The step was taken under Section 4(1) of the Payment Systems and Electronic Fund Transfer Act, 2007, and follows the Payment System Designation Framework, 2017. Business Recorder reported that the designation is a major milestone in the company's institutional development.

Pakistan's countrywide interbank cheque clearing network is run by NIFT, using an Image-Based Clearing System and 27 processing centres. The company says it will work alongside the central bank, lenders and other financial sector participants to build a more secure and inclusive payments ecosystem.

NIFT is also building technology-based tools for cheque truncation, digital cheque services, centralised analytics and validation, and secure digital payments. The company hopes these efforts will modernise cheque clearing and speed up digital adoption across the sector. The report notes that the designation reflects the firm's move from a licensed operator to a systemically important one within the country's changing financial system.