Payment Systems Policy & Oversight Department (PSP&OD) pursues efficiency and safety in the National Payments System (NPS), including wholesale and retail payment systems, services and payment instruments. More recently, as digitalization has been growing rapidly in Pakistan recently and will be even more amplified in the future, the department aims to focus on expanding accessibility, ensuring effective protection of customers and the existence of a competitive environment for all market participants.

Recent developments in Payment Systems present new challenges and opportunities especially in the areas of improving interoperability, increasing access points and enhancing usage while at the same time taking care of risk management and cyber security concerns.

PSP&OD especially have to remain cognizant of the fact that the development of Payment Systems, like any other network, is a delicate task as it not only includes the development of infrastructure but also enhancing its usage and ensuring continuous oversight of the same.

Objectives
The key objectives of PSP&OD are as under:

• Ensuring safe, sound and efficient operations of financial market infrastructures through continuous oversight
  
  
• Enabling regulatory environment for safe, efficient and robust payment systems and provision of level-playing field for all market participants.
  
  
• Increasing awareness of financial and payment services through academia, industry and trade associations
  
  
• Promoting competition in the market for payment services, consistent with the overall stability of the financial system.
  
  
• Promoting the safety and efficiency in licencing, regulation and oversight of the Financial Markets Infrastructure