RIZWAN BHATTI

KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has partially modified the donations collection and reporting mechanism to ensure reporting of Diamer Basha and Mohmand Dam Fund on real-time basis.

The SBP has also directed banks that each donation collected by bank will be settled with the SBP within 30 minutes of its receipt through Pakistan Real Time Inter Bank Settlement Mechanism (PRISM).

According to SBP circular, with a view to making the collection and reporting of transactions on almost real-time basis, it has been decided to partially modify the donations collection and reporting mechanism for the domestic branches of commercial and microfinance banks.

Specifically, all branches of banks have been asked to collect donation for credit to the Diamer Basha and Mohmand Dam Fund account and will be settled the same with SBP through PRISM.

Further, banks will also allow their customers to make donations/contributions through Automated Teller Machines (ATM), internet banking and/or other Alternate Delivery Channels (ADCs), for intra-bank donations/contributions to the fund account. For this purpose, IBAN of the account of the fund opened by each bank will be prominently displayed on their respective websites and also be intimated to their respective customers through SMS alerts.

The cash deposited by the donor/walk-in-customer will be directly credited to the account of the fund opened at each bank for onward credit to the fund account at SBP through PRISM, it added.

Each donation/contribution collected by the bank will be settled separately with the SBP through PRISM within 30 minutes of its receipt and the message will include the name of donor and amount of his/her donation/contribution.

All the transactions made through PRISM to the subject fund account will be exempted from PRISM charges.

The amount so settled through PRISM will be directly credited to the principal account of the fund maintained at the SBP Banking Services Corporation (SBPBSC) Karachi.

Banks have been allowed that amounts collected by banks after business hours of PRISM may be settled on next working day soon after the start of its business operations. The donations/contributions settled through PRISM will be reported on centralized basis, to the Federal Treasury Office, Karachi by SBP Banking Services Corporation (SBPBSC).

Banks have been further advised that opening of account of the fund, its IBAN, availability of facility of donations/contributions through ATM, Internet banking and/or other ADCs should be given adequate publicity on their websites and in premises of their branches.