SBP shortlists six firms for digital finance Regulatory Sandbox

January 06, 2026 (MLN): The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has shortlisted six applicants to pilot innovative digital financial products under its Regulatory Sandbox initiative.

Under the programme, the selected firms will be allowed to test their proposed solutions in a controlled live environment for a period of up to six months, subject to regulatory conditions set at the time of approval, according to a press release issued by External Communications Department, SBP.

The shortlisted companies include Neem Exponential Financial Services Private Ltd, Digi Khata (SMC-Private) Limited and Swich Retail Private Limited under the open banking category.

The Bank of Punjab has been selected to test solutions related to remote onboarding of merchants.

Meanwhile, Barq Fintech (Pvt) Ltd, along with a joint application from Taptap Send UK Limited and United Bank Limited, has been shortlisted under the technology-enabled inward remittances theme.

The Regulatory Sandbox was launched in May 2025 as part of SBP’s Vision 2028 strategy aimed at fostering innovation in digital financial services.

The central bank had announced the first cohort of applicants in August 2025, inviting proposals across three focus areas: technology-enabled inward remittances, open banking and remote merchant onboarding.

According to SBP, the initiative attracted strong interest from both regulated financial institutions and local and international fintech firms.

To ensure transparency and effective oversight, the central bank has constituted a high-level steering committee to supervise the process.

The SBP said it expects the sandbox initiative to support the development and rollout of practical, user-centric technological solutions, strengthening Pakistan’s evolving digital financial ecosystem.

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