SECP, Askari Bank complete API integration for faster corporate accounts

Mettis Global reported that Askari Bank has become the first commercial bank in Pakistan to connect its systems with the Corporate Registry of the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP). The integration agreement, signed by SECP Commissioner Muzzaffar Mirza and Askari Bank Group Head Retail Banking Sheikh Rashid Rauf, aims to speed up the opening of new corporate accounts and reduce paperwork. Askari Bank President and CEO Zia Ejaz, SECP Chairman Dr. Kabir Ahmed Sidhu, other commissioners and senior officials attended the signing ceremony.

The link will let the bank receive verified corporate details directly from the regulator, cutting manual checks and onboarding time. Once a company is registered, it can open a bank account right away and begin its business activities, the regulator stated. SECP Chairman Sidhu called the move a key element of the commission's digitisation and 'Be Ready' reforms, adding that the regulator also intends to extend comparable digital connections to every other bank and financial institution in Pakistan.