KARACHI: US Pakistan digital banking ties Cisco have taken a big step forward, after the State Bank of Pakistan launched a new core banking network built with the American technology firm Cisco. The multimillion dollar project is a milestone in the modernisation of Pakistan financial infrastructure, and it is meant to make digital banking safer and more reliable across the country. The launch was marked at the State Bank headquarters in Karachi on Friday, with senior officials from both sides present.
The Cisco core banking network SBP has deployed is built on a software defined data centre, which is a modern way of running a bank computer systems. Instead of fixed machines doing fixed jobs, the system can shift work around as demand rises and falls, and it can keep running even if one part fails. The State Bank says the new setup is secure, agile and resilient, and that it is designed to safeguard monetary stability and to keep digital banking services running without breaks.
Natalie Baker attended SBP ceremony at the State Bank headquarters, joining the event as the US Charge d Affaires in Pakistan. She stood with State Bank Governor Jameel Ahmad and senior executives from Cisco Systems Pakistan to mark the successful deployment of the bank new core banking network and software defined data centre. Her presence shows that the project is seen as more than a purchase of equipment, and that it is part of the wider digital ties between the two countries.
Governor Jameel Ahmad SBP headquarters hosted the ceremony, and the governor has led the State Bank through a period of change in the banking system. Under his watch, the bank has pushed digital payments, cut the use of cash and tried to bring more people into the formal banking system. The new core network sits at the heart of that push, because every digital payment in the country passes through systems that the State Bank watches over. A stronger core means fewer outages and fewer risks.
A software defined data centre SBP now runs is different from the old style of data centre, where each server had one fixed job. In the new setup, the software decides where each task should run, and it can move work in seconds if a machine fails. That matters for a central bank, because its systems must never stop. If the core banking network goes down, banks across the country cannot settle payments, and that can shake trust in the whole system in a single day.
Digital banking services Pakistan secure is the goal of the whole project, and it matters to ordinary people as much as to bankers. When a person sends money through a mobile app, pays a bill online or receives a salary in a bank account, the payment moves through the State Bank systems. If those systems are slow or unsafe, the person feels it at once. A modern core network should make those payments faster, safer and cheaper, and that is what the State Bank is promising.
The project also shows how Pakistan banks are turning to foreign technology firms for their core systems. Cisco is one of the largest network firms in the world, and its equipment runs in banks and telecom firms across the globe. The State Bank chose Cisco for this project, and the firm worked with local teams to build and test the system. The exact cost of the project has not been disclosed, and the State Bank has only called it a multimillion dollar project, so readers should not take any cost figure from social media as fact.
The launch comes at a time when digital payments are growing fast in Pakistan. The prime minister has ordered a roadmap for 100 percent digital payments, and banks are adding QR code payments, mobile wallets and instant transfers. All of that growth needs a strong core, and the new network is meant to provide it. If the system works as promised, it will be the quiet backbone of the digital economy, doing its job without most people ever knowing it is there.
For now, the State Bank has a new core network, and the United States has a new example of digital cooperation with Pakistan. The real test will come in the months ahead, when the system faces heavy traffic, cyber threats and the daily rush of millions of payments. If it holds up, it will be a win for the bank, for the banks it serves and for the people who use digital banking every day.
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