On Thursday, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) advised fintech company, TAG Innovation Pvt. Ltd to refund all outstanding funds to its wallet holders immediately, but no later than August 19, 2022. “This action has been taken after identification of violations of SBP’s regulatory requirements and other concerns during the pilot operations of M/s TAG,” said the SBP in a brief statement.
EMI Licenses are Issued by SBP to Non-Bank Entities in Three Stages
“EMI licenses are issued by SBP to non-bank entities in three stages i.e. In-Principle Approval, Pilot Operations Approval, and Commercial Operations Approval. Moreover, a pilot operation is conducted to assess the readiness of the business for commercial operations and only after its successful completion (is a) license to commence commercial operations granted to the respective EMI,” the SBP added.
TAG Innovation is a mobile application that enables its users to open mobile wallets and get debit cards. The app’s users can use it to perform online transactions such as money transfers, bill payments, and mobile top-up payments with a touch. The startup was granted pilot approval by the SBP in August 2021 after the in-principal approval from the central bank in November 2020.
TAG Innovation Raised More Than $12 Million Funding Last Year
TAG Innovation is Pakistan’s first digital retail bank that allows customers to open a bank account and access banking services online. The financial technology startup, TAG Innovations had raised more than $12 million in Pakistan’s largest seed funding round last year in September, pushing the startup’s total financing to over $17.5 million. The funding was led by Liberty City and also included Addition LP, Mantis Venture Capital, and Banana Capital LP, stated the founder of TAG Innovation, Talal Ahmad Gondal.
Read more: SBP to Enhance Monitoring of Foreign Exchange Operations
