SBP concludes first cohort of its regulatory sandbox

Business Recorder reported that the State Bank of Pakistan has concluded its first sandbox cohort, launched in August 2025 to encourage digital financial innovation under central bank oversight. Six applicants were shortlisted after scrutiny and invited to test their solutions between January and June 2026, with SBP teams providing support and guidance throughout.

The cohort covered three themes: technology-enabled inward remittances, open banking and remote merchant onboarding. Successful participants included United Bank Limited, which showed a remittance solution with Taptap Send UK Limited, plus Digi Khata (SMC-Private) Limited, Swich Retail and Neem Exponential Financial Services in open banking.

SBP noted that completing the sandbox does not amount to regulatory approval, so participants still need authorisation before commercial launch. Findings and recommendations from the cohort will feed into new regulatory frameworks, and the central bank expects the sandbox to keep supporting fintechs and banks.