The Central Depository Company of Pakistan Limited (CDC) and EClear Services Limited are expanding their partnership to introduce new digital payment and investor verification services in Pakistan’s stock market through the State Bank of Pakistan’s Raast payment system.

Under the initiative, EClear will become the first institution in Pakistan’s capital market to adopt Raast Person-to-Merchant (P2M) Request to Pay Later and Dynamic QR Code payment services. The new features are designed to make payments easier and improve transaction management for brokerage operations.

The initiative builds on CDC’s existing Raast-based services, which include Person-to-Person transfers and Static QR Code payments. These services allow customers of capital market institutions to transfer funds for trading, investments, and other purposes.

CDC has also introduced Raast-based services to verify bank account details through IBAN and CNIC information, helping support payment processes across the sector.

The new payment options could also help brokers connected to EClear collect debit and margin payments more efficiently. Automating these processes could reduce manual work and simplify payment collection.

CDC Chief Executive Officer Badiuddin Akber said the company was the first capital market institution to connect with Raast. It introduced bulk payments through the system for its eDividend initiative in 2021.

He said CDC had since expanded its Raast-based services for mutual fund companies, stockbrokers, and insurance companies.

Through its Raast Aggregator framework, CDC aims to expand digital payment options across Pakistan’s capital market and improve financial processes for investors and other market participants.