BOP Launches Pakistan’s First Digital SME Loan

The Bank of Punjab (BOP) has introduced a new digital lending platform called BOP SME Digital Finance, positioning itself as Pakistan’s first commercial bank to offer such a comprehensive tech-enabled business loan product for small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Launched in Karachi, the initiative was attended by key figures including Saleem Ullah, Deputy Governor of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), and Zafar Masud, President & CEO of BOP. The bank already has an established record in SME financing through products like the Asaan Karobar Card, Asaan Karobar Finance, eBusiness Qarza, and Kissan Card—all geared toward reducing barriers for smaller businesses, entrepreneurs, and farmers.

This new platform addresses well-known challenges that SMEs often face: the need for collateral, long paperwork, formal documentation, and lack of easy access to financial services. With “BOP SME Digital Finance,” eligible applicants can now apply entirely online whether they are filling term finance needs or working capital. It uses structured business and financial assessments, cash-flow analysis, psychometric testing of behavioral traits, and an automated scoring model to evaluate creditworthiness beyond traditional methods. Approved users can electronically sign agreements and have funds disbursed without needing many physical steps, making the process faster and more inclusive.

The launch of this platform comes as part of broader efforts by both BOP and SBP to boost SME financing across Pakistan. Under the SBP’s Challenge Fund for Technology Adoption & Digitalization of SME Banking, BOP was selected as the sole winning bank, reflecting its readiness and capacity in this domain. Recent numbers show the SME finance sector is growing fast: outstanding SME finance has risen to PKR 691 billion by June 30, 2025 (up by 41 percent year-on-year), and the number of SME borrowers increased by 57 percent to 276,578. BOP itself has seen a 295 percent increase in SME borrowers and a 91 percent growth in its SME loan portfolio over the same period, holding a 44 percent market share in SME lending.