Importers and exporters could soon pay customs duties, taxes and other trade charges through a pre-funded digital wallet, as Pakistan Single Window (PSW) plans a new Unified Payment System (UPS) for cross-border trade payments.
The wallet will be run by a licensed bank or fintech company under a structure permitted by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), using its existing infrastructure rather than building a new system.
How the Wallet Will Work
Traders will be able to keep reusable balances and top them up through inter-bank fund transfers (IBFT), Raast, banking apps and portals, or over-the-counter deposits. They can also withdraw funds remotely.
The wallet will settle payments against payment advice generated within the PSW ecosystem. This covers the PSW platform, Maritime Single Window and Port Community System, Air Community System, Customs Clearance System and other PSW-linked services.
The service provider will handle fund custody, balances, top-ups, withdrawals, refunds, reversals and settlement, along with customer due diligence and anti-money laundering checks.
PSW itself will not hold, intermediate or settle customer funds. The wallet will connect to PSW only through the UPS, and PSW will be able to add more payment providers later without major changes to the system.
What This Means for Traders
At present, trade payments within PSW go through Pre-Deposit (PD) accounts and bank or payment-gateway-based mechanisms. The wallet will be an extra option alongside these, not a replacement, and existing PD accounts will not be migrated.
For businesses, the main gains are convenience and visibility. They can park funds in advance, pay several charges from one balance, and track each transaction, its settlement and reconciliation, which should make trade payments faster and more transparent.
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