ISLAMABAD: The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) has empowered the commissioner, Specialized Companies Division to grant approval to a digital lender for the launch of an App or any other digital channel for lending.

In this connection, the SECP issued SRO 390 (I)/2023, here on Tuesday.

Under the requirements for the digital lending Apps, prior to the launch of an App or any other digital channel for lending, the digital lender shall seek approval of the commission and submit a corticated from the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) approved by the Cyber Security Audit Firm regarding compliance with the requirements of the SECP.

The SECP’s SRO 390(I)/2023 stated that in exercise of powers conferred by section 10 of the SECP Act, 1997, the commission, hereby, delegates the powers and functions of the Commission to the Commissioner, Specialized Companies Division for granting approval to a digital lender for the launch of an App or any other digital channel for lending.

The commission shall have the authority to exercise all powers delegated to the commissioner concurrently, the SECP’s notification added.

The SECP will issue licenses to only those digital lending companies which will obtain “compliance certificates” from the PTA’s approved cyber security audit firms.

The commission has made it mandatory for digital lending companies to take the commission’s prior approval for launching Digital Lending Platforms/Apps after obtaining the said “compliance certificate”. The lenders will be allowed to operate only one App at a particular time and the list of Digital Lending Apps of NBFCs shall be placed on SECP’s website.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023