Raast is Pakistan’s Real-Time Payment System (RTPS). A new instant payment system, Raast, will enable end-to-end digital payments between individuals, businesses, and government bodies in real-time. Raast is Pakistan’s first instant payment system. Pakistan’s Faster Payment System, which is state-of-the-art, will be used to settle small-value retail payments in real-time while also providing cheap and universal access to all players in the financial industry, including commercial banks, microfinance banks, government entities, and fintech companies (EMIs and PSPs).
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| Raast ID – Instant Payment System by State Bank of Pakistan |
In Pakistan, there has been a significant decline in electronic transactions due to a variety of factors, including poor banking penetration, a lack of trust in and understanding of digital payment systems, restricted interoperability, problematic accessibility, and a high transaction cost. Instant payment settlements are only available through Pakistan’s Real Time Gross Settlement System (RTGS), which is designed for large-value and business transactions. Raast: Pakistan’s new “Instant Payment System” will make retail payment settlements a lot faster.
Raast tries to solve some of the most important problems in the payment ecosystem, like:
Interoperability is restricted:
Banks and other businesses that provide digital payment services can’t connect or communicate with their customers because there isn’t enough central infrastructure.
The cost of digital payments to the end-user is extremely high:
To transfer money digitally, end users have to pay a lot of money in transaction fees. This makes digital payments difficult for a lot of people.
Unsatisfactory user experience:
To make digital payments, end users must go through a lengthy and complicated process, and there are currently no digital modes of payment that are widely accepted by merchants.
Inadequacy of security:
Payment types and infrastructure currently available for digital transactions do not provide sufficient data protection and authentication.
Raast is at the centre of the DFS ecosystem in Pakistan
Important Raast Features:
1. Instantaneous payments are possible:
The ability to make digital payments in near real-time between individuals, merchants, businesses, and government organizations
2. End users will incur minimal to no transaction costs:
RAAST is built on a cost-recovery system so that digital payments can be used by people from all kinds of backgrounds, which is the goal of the project.
3. Interoperability across the entire industry:
Raast would make it easy for all financial institutions to connect, making digital payments available to customers of any financial institution through any method.
4. Products and services that are centred on the customer:
Raise will be built on top of cutting-edge technology standards that will allow businesses and banks to make payments with their phone number as their RAAST ID. This will allow businesses and banks to make payments with their cell phone number as their RAAST ID.
5. Reliability and better security are important considerations:
Data protection and fraud detection services are provided by RAAST, which uses more secure payment types and makes sure that each transaction has been approved by the person who paid.
Payments are made easier with Raast P2P:
As part of its efforts to promote the adoption of digital financial services in Pakistan, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has developed Raast, Pakistan’s first instant payment system. Raast will provide people in Pakistan with instant, dependable, and zero-cost digital payment services to encourage the adoption of digital financial services in the country. In addition to becoming part of a select group of nations that have either launched or are in the process of developing instant payment systems, Pakistan has also become part of the Raast team. The State Bank of Pakistan owns and operates the Raast system, which is completely electronic. Raast Person-to-Person Payments will be introduced in January 2021, following the launch of the first phase of Raast, Bulk Payments, in January 2021. (P2P).
Users will be able to send and receive money in their accounts via their bank’s mobile application, internet banking, or over-the-counter services under the Raast peer-to-peer cash transfers and settlement services. For the convenience of their customers, banks will also allow them to generate a Raast ID by combining their selected International Bank Account Number (IBAN) with their registered mobile phone number, which will be used to verify their identity. Customers can then distribute their Raast ID to others to deposit funds into their accounts. Even if they do not have a Raast ID, bank customers can use the Raast service to transfer or receive funds using their IBANs if they have an IBAN.
Features Making Life Easier:
- free
- It’s simple:
- There is no minimum transaction requirement
- There is no minimum transaction size specified.
- Fast
- Safeguarded by internationally recognized best practices and standards.
- Support is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
- Raast is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
- The banks provide helpdesk service 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
How to Make Use of Raast:
How to create a Raast ID:
- Creating your Raast ID allows individuals to transfer payments to you using just your cell phone, eliminating the need to know account details or IBANs.
- Use the channel given by your bank (mobile application, internet banking, branch over the counter, USSD).
- To link your account, you must first authenticate yourself and confirm your mobile number.
- Your cell number will be instantly confirmed as your new Raast ID by your bank channel. Each customer is only allowed one Raast ID and one account per Raast ID.
Using Raast to Transfer Funds:
- Transferring payments via Raast is possible even if the sender has not registered for a Raast ID.
- Use the channel given by your bank (mobile application, internet banking, branch over the counter, USSD).
- On Raast-enabled banks, enter the beneficiary’s IBAN or Raast ID (mobile number).
- Confirm the amount to be sent within your bank’s limitations.
- Your payment will be transferred immediately.
Raast Official Website: https://www.sbp.org.pk/dfs/Raast.html