The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has announced that it will launch its upgraded payment and settlement system, called PRISM+, tomorrow. This advancement marks a significant milestone in the ongoing evolution of Pakistan’s financial infrastructure.
The new system represents a major step forward in modernizing how money and government securities move across the country’s financial system.
PRISM+ is based on the global ISO 20022 messaging standard, which is widely used in many advanced financial systems around the world. It includes two key components: a faster Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) system for large payments among participants, and a brand-new Central Securities Depository (CSD) that manages government securities such as T-Bills, PIBs, and other government instruments.
PRISM+ offers a faster and smarter banking system with several new tools and features for banks to better manage their daily operations. These include real-time transfer of large payments between participants, the option to schedule payments for a future date, priority-based payment processing where important payments are settled first, live dashboards showing balances, pending payments, and settlement statuses, and automatic calculation of fees and invoices.
The CSD in PRISM+ also allows banks to buy, sell, and manage government bonds more efficiently. Banks can participate in primary market auctions by submitting bids and receiving results in real time, engage in secondary market trading with quick matching and settlement of trade instructions, and manage collateral by tracking and valuing pledged securities while monitoring available resources. Additionally, the system supports open market operations, enabling the SBP to inject or withdraw liquidity in the market and settle transactions instantly.
The system also brings greater transparency and security. Every transaction includes a full audit trail, role-based access ensures that only authorized users can perform actions, and real-time alerts notify banks about any issues with settlement.
PRISM+ introduces new tools for liquidity and payment management, such as liquidity-saving queues that prioritize high-priority payments for immediate settlement while lower-priority payments are batched to avoid congestion.
Banks can earmark reserves specifically for systems like Raast, 1Link, NIFT, or NCCPL, ensuring that critical transactions are not delayed due to general liquidity usage. The Intraday Liquidity Facility (ILF) allows banks to access short-term liquidity by assigning eligible government securities, ensuring smooth settlement even during cash shortfalls.
Other improvements include longer operating hours for better access, real-time handling of payment cancellations and return messages, and the option to deposit or withdraw cash at the SBP Karachi office for certain operations.
PRISM+ is expected to make Pakistan’s financial system faster, safer, and more modern. It will help participants move money more efficiently, manage liquidity more effectively, handle securities transactions with ease, and reduce risks in the system.
The system has been developed in alignment with SBP’s Vision 2028, which aims to establish a modern, inclusive, and robust financial ecosystem. Extensive stakeholder engagement throughout the development process has ensured that PRISM+ reflects international best practices while catering to Pakistan’s unique market needs.