SBP waives off transactional charges on online payments
Banks have been advised to facilitate their customers in using online banking
KARACHI (Dunya News) – State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Wednesday waived off transactional charges on various modes of online payments for customers on a temporary basis to be effective from March 20 in order to curtail the risk of the spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19) and limit the physical interaction of citizens at the branch level.
According to a circular issued by SBP, customers can now make banking transactions without any charges for fund transfer, utility bills payments, tax submission, mobile top-ups and etc. They will also not incur any cost in case of using ATMs or visiting bank branches for transferring large amounts and can avoid the use of cash.
Banks have been advised to facilitate their customers in using online banking while taking all necessary precautionsto ensure the safety and security of customer’s funds. Further, they will also ensure that call centres/helplines are available 24/7 for instant customer support.
The central bank has instructed banks to waive all charges on fund transfers through online banking channels such as Inter Bank Fund Transfer (IBFT) and SBP’s Real Time Gross Settlement System for customers. Thus people can transfer money through mobile phones or internet banking avoiding the need to visit a bank branch or an ATM without incurring any cost.
The financial industry has been instructed to immediately facilitate education fee and loan repayments through internet banking or mobile devices. Financial institutions shall also run awareness campaigns through different channels to educate customers to use internet banking or mobile phones, limit use of currency notes and restrict branch visits. Anticipating any frauds in the wake of digital transactions, SBP has advised financial industry to increase vigilance on digital channels and increase monitoring on cyber threats.
SBP expects that all these measures will help to continue meeting routine financial service needs of bank customers. COVID19 has challenged human life globally and all the countries are struggling to find out solutions; the key approach, so far, has been to take precautionary measures. SBP is working with stakeholders to continuously assessing the situation and will take every possible measure to improve the safety of public.
