Business Desk 
Aug 19, 2025
A day after announcing it, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has launched Pakistan’s new Real-Time Interbank Settlement Mechanism Plus (PRISM+) with the aim of modernising the country's payment infrastructure.
The debut of PRISM+, headed by SBP Governor Jameel Ahmad, testifies that Pakistan is making remarkable strides towards the advancement of the conventional payment methods, with the central bank introducing innovative, technologically advanced systems like PRISM+.
PRISM+ also marks a crucial advancement in the evolution of Pakistan’s financial infrastructure.
According to PhoneWorld, PRISM+ is believed to modernise the movement of money and government securities across Pakistan’s financial system, as it is built on the globally recognised ISO 20022 messaging standard, which is commonly utilised in advanced financial systems worldwide.
The new system features two main components: a faster Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) system for large payments and a newly established Central Securities Depository (CSD) for managing government securities such as T-Bills and PIBs.
Out of the two, the CSD enables banks to efficiently handle government bonds, participate in primary market auctions, and engage in secondary market trading with swift matching and settlement.
SBP's advanced payment system would also facilitate open market operations, allowing the central bank to manage liquidity in the market effectively.
To ensure that every transaction leaves a complete audit trail and only authorised users can perform actions, PRISM+ brings improved transparency and security.
