ISLAMABAD, June 11 (Xinhua) -- The Pakistani central bank has directed banks to develop and implement digital solutions for supply chain finance within six months to leverage the technology for increasing small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) access to finance as well as digitizing the retail payments.
A circular issued by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) instructed banks to establish an effective Supply Chain Finance (SCF) function having suitably trained human resources and systems to develop and offer digital SCF products to the SMEs, the central bank said in a statement on Tuesday.
The banks have been further advised to either develop their own digital solutions for SCF or partner with any Fintech service providers for providing digital SCF, it added.
"The digital SCF solutions will not only increase access of SMEs to finance but also improve operational efficiency, reduce costs, and strengthen risk management practices," according to the SBP. ■
