Terms and Conditions

By accepting these terms and conditions, the Users of the InvestPak Portal, hereinafter referred to as “the Portal”, are bound by these terms and conditions. .
Users are strongly advised to read through the entire terms and conditions carefully and become familiar with the use of the Portal and periodically review these terms and conditions for any changes.
In case of breach of any of these terms and conditions, the User’s authorization to use the Portal may be terminated without any prior notice.
These terms and conditions shall be irrevocable and shall remain legally enforceable and binding without any limitation. By continuing to use this Portal, the User shall be deemed to have accepted the terms and conditions.
These terms and conditions together with the SOPs, technical guidelines and regulatory circulars are designed to provide general guidance to Users; however, in some cases, additional information or steps may be required for which the User may consult SBP through the given contact email addresses.
SBP reserves the rights to change, with or without prior notice or intimation, the terms and conditions and the Portal itself in part or full. However, any changes in the terms and conditions shall be notified to Users from time to time.

1. Scope:
  1. The Portal has been designed to provide an online platform to all bank account holders and the Regulated Entities (RE) to digitally place bids in the auctions of government securities, place secondary market sale and purchase orders, portfolio management tools and other ancillary matters pertaining thereto.

1. Definitions:
  1. “Account” means a unique account created by or for any individual in order to access the Portal.
  2. “Bank” means a banking company as defined in the Banking Companies Ordinance, 1962.
  3. “InvestPak”, the Portal, means the information technology system controlled and maintained by SBP for use by users for online submission of bids in government securities auction, placement of secondary market sale and purchase of government securities and management of government securities portfolio.
  4. “SBP” means the State Bank of Pakistan.
  5. “Users” collectively will include three types of users,
    1. “Customer” means a bank account holder who has applied for registration or a registered user of government securities portal.
    2. “Super User” will be the Treasurer or senior treasury officer of the Regulated Entity who is authorized by the SBP and Regulated Entity to access the Portal and create further sub-users of its treasury, and assign roles and responsibilities accordingly.
    3. “Sub User” is an employee of the Regulated Entity who is authorized by the Regulated Entity or by the Super user to access the Portal.
  6. “Regulated Entities (REs)” mean entities licensed/authorized and regulated by the SBP under any law administered by SBP, and include:
    (a)     Banks;
    
    (b)    Development Finance Institutions (DFIs);
    
    (c)     Microfinance Banks (MFBs);
    
    (d)    All types of Exchange Companies (ECs);
    
    (e)     Payment Systems Operators (PSOs);
    
    (f)     Payment Service Providers (PSPs);
    
    (g)    Electronic Money Institutions (EMIs); and
    
    (h)    Third Party Payment Service Providers (TPSPs).
  7. "SMS" means Short Message Service, which includes the storage, routing and delivery of alphanumeric messages over telecommunications system.
  8. “OTP” means One-Time Password which is a code of four (04) or higher digits, in any combination, used for security verification.
  9. “FPIN” means a Financial Personal Identification Number which is a code of four (04) digits or higher number of digits, in any combination of digits.
  10. "Payment Instruction" shall mean any instruction given by Users to debit funds for any purpose via the Portal.

1. Obligations of Users:
  1. The User agrees to use the Portal only in a lawful manner as per these terms and conditions and further agrees not to cause, or knowingly allow others to cause, any nuisance, annoyance, or inconvenience whether to SBP or to any other User of the Portal by any means, including without limitation, knowingly introducing viruses, Trojan horses, or other malicious or harmful material or malware.
  2. The User agrees not to use the Portal to transmit or post any material which is fraudulent, abusive, hateful, sexually or racially or ethnically or otherwise objectionable, defamatory, offensive or obscene or menacing in any manner whatsoever.
  3. The User agrees to use up-to-date virus checking software to prevent the introduction of viruses and other harmful code onto the Portal.
  4. The user is liable for responsible use of the Portal and will ensure in entirety to comply with the principles of “Due Care” and “Due Diligence”, while using it.
  5. By using the Portal, the User understands and consents to the following:
    1. The User privacy related matters will be governed by Privacy Notice (Web Link). At any time, SBP may for any lawful purpose monitor, intercept, and search and seize any communication or data transiting or stored on the Portal.
    2. Any communication or data transiting or stored on the Portal may be disclosed or used by SBP for any lawful government purpose.
    3. The User shall keep his/her identification and authentication credentials confidential and shall not share it (them) with anyone. In case of any breach:
      - the User registered as customer shall immediately contact its bank and call center for remedial actions; and
      - the User of RE shall contact his/her immediate supervisor and inform SBP forthwith through the given contact email address.
    4. The User shall ensure that the information and content submitted on the Portal is true, accurate and complete.
    5. The User understands and accepts that as a security measure for administrative reasons, SBP can revoke User account access, if deemed necessary.

1. Jurisdiction and Restriction:
  1. SBP controls and maintains the Portal from Pakistan and SBP makes no representation that the material and information contained herein is appropriate or available for use in other locations/jurisdictions.
  2. These Terms and Conditions shall be construed, enforced, governed and performed in accordance with the laws of Pakistan, and any dispute shall be subject to the applicable laws of the respective jurisdiction in Pakistan.

1. Online Services:
  1. The online services provided on the Portal are provided at the discretion of SBP subject to the applicable terms and conditions on which they are offered and such services may be withdrawn or amended at any time with or without notice.
  2. SBP may use monitoring, logging and analytics tools to improve the performance and security of the Portal.
  3. The information transmitted by the Users through online services provided by the Portal may be shared with appropriate law enforcement authorities if such suspicious activities are detected and the circumstances warrant so, in accordance with the applicable law, rules and regulations.

1. Operational guidelines:
  1. Users will ensure that the data, information, contents and any other element provided through the Portal is true, relevant, accurate, complete and reliable.
  2. RE’s shall not be required to independently verify the Payment Instruction; an instruction is effective unless countermanded by further instructions. RE shall have no liability if it does not or is unable to stop or prevent the implementation of any instruction.
  3. Where RE considers the instructions to be inconsistent or contradictory it may seek clarification from the user before acting on any instruction of the user or act upon any such instruction as it deems fit.
  4. In case of any error, users are bound to intimate and update the requisite data, elements, information and content through a process described for the purpose.
  5. REs and Users are responsible to ensure that the data, information and content provided in the Portal through the online access is virus and/or malware free.
  6. Users will not make any attempt to misuse, sabotage, damage or act in a way that can degrade, damage or become harmful for the Portal.
  7. The information and documents that the User provides will be used to process and decide the fate of the case submitted by the User.
  8. Users may request for termination of the access to the Portal any time by giving a written notice of at least 15 days to the respective bank. In case of a written notice, the termination shall take effect on the completion of the fifteenth day. Users will remain responsible for any transactions made through the Portal until the time of such termination.
  9. RE may withdraw or terminate the access to the Portal, in consultation with SBP, at any time either entirely or with reference to a specific service or User; or in case of breach of Terms by the Customer without any prior notice, or if it learns of the death, bankruptcy or lack of legal capacity of the Customer.

1. Legal Disclaimer:
  1. SBP accepts or assumes no liability and will not be liable for any loss or damage arising directly or indirectly (including, but not limited to, special, incidental or consequential) from the access or use of the Portal, howsoever, and including any loss, damage or expense arising from, but not limited to, any defect, error, imperfection, fault, mistake or inaccuracy or as a result of any malware or similar items or processes with the Portal, its contents or associated services, or due to any unavailability of the Portal or any part thereof or any contents or associated services.
  2. Any hyperlinks from the Portal exist for information purposes and are solely for convenience and SBP accepts no liability for any loss or damage arising directly or indirectly (including consequential loss) from the accuracy or otherwise of materials or information contained on the pages of such sites or loss arising directly or indirectly from defects with such sites. SBP's inclusion of hyperlinks does not imply any endorsement of the material on such sites.
  3. SBP shall have absolute discretion to amend or supplement or delete any of the Terms at any time. Such change to the Terms shall be communicated to the Users through its website or through email sent to the Users’ registered email address. By continuing to use any existing or new services as may be introduced by SBP, Users shall be deemed to have accepted the changed Terms.
  4. SBP may publish notices of general nature, which are applicable to all Users, in newspapers or on its website or through emails sent to Users’ registered email address. Such notices will have the same effect as a notice served individually to each User.

1. User Password and Security:
  1. Using the Portal and its related services requires the use of a password and a user name issued by SBP. However, the User will be required to change the password on a frequent basis. To verify and confirm the actions at the Portal, the User shall also generate a secure FPIN on first login.
  2. The confidentiality of password and account is the responsibility of the User. All activities that occur under User account are the responsibility of that User and the RE that has authorized its User.
  3. The User understands and accepts that SBP is not responsible for any losses or damages incurred by anyone because of:
    1. The use of the information available in the User’s account.
    2. Any restrictions, delay, malfunction, or unavailability of the User’s account.
  4. Unless otherwise noted, SBP will not automatically gather any specific information from the User account, such as the User’s name, telephone number or email address. SBP would obtain this type of information only if the User supplies the same, for example, by email or by filling in a registration form.
  5. The User shall notify respective bank immediately of any unauthorized use of its account or any other breach of security. It is strictly prohibited to use anyone else’s account.
  6. The Sub-User shall notify its bank’s Super User immediately of any unauthorized use of User account or any other breach of security. It is strictly prohibited to use anyone else’s account.
  7. The Super User shall notify SBP immediately of any unauthorized use of User account or any other breach of security. It is strictly prohibited to use anyone else’s account.

1. Confidentiality, Information and Data Protection:
  1. Notwithstanding any existing legal or contractual obligations regarding confidentiality between the RE and SBP, the User undertakes to treat all knowledge relating to business secrets, which come into RE’s/User’s possession, as confidential. The REs shall assure that the data is protected and is not transmitted to any unauthorized person.
  2. In partial consideration of the opportunity to access the resources of the Portal concerning User account, the REs shall maintain strict confidentiality of access of the Portal and its data.
  3. Unless otherwise specified, the RE may reproduce the materials in whole or in part for legal and regulatory compliance purposes and only the purpose for which the case was submitted, and in any suitable format, without change or further permission, provided the RE :
    1. Exercises due diligence in ensuring the accuracy, reliability and authenticity of the materials reproduced;
    2. Indicates that the reproduction is a copy of the versions available with the RE. All original formats shall be maintained and retained as per the legal, regulatory and business requirements and can be produced to the concerned authorities with due diligence and care.
    3. Unless otherwise specified, User will not reproduce materials on this Portal, in whole or in part, for any commercial purpose without prior permission from SBP.
  4. Users shall not copy, sell, rent, lease, license, sublicense, grant any rights in, transfer, distribute, time-share or otherwise assign to any third party any portion of the Portal.
  5. Users shall not store or otherwise copy any content available on the Portal for wider distribution, commercial gain or any other purpose other than its legal, regulatory and approved business use.

1. Intellectual Property and Copyright:
  1. Unless otherwise stated, any intellectual property rights arising in respect of the Portal's design, text, graphics, its selection and arrangement, software, any updates thereto and all other material (the 'Content') belongs to SBP.
  2. Copying or use of such content is not permitted without the prior approval of the SBP, unless expressly allowed under these terms and conditions.

1. Illegal Use:
  1. Users shall not use the Portal for any of the following;
    1. Use of the Portal other than for the intended purpose.
    2. Accessing details that are not intended to be provided to user or logging into a server or an account that user is not authorized to access.
    3. Attempting to conduct any screening, testing or scanning for finding vulnerabilities of the Portal, its components, system or network of the SBP.
    4. Violating applicable procedures or documenting them without an official permission.
    5. Attempting to interfere in the provided service on the part of any User, host or network including but not limited to injecting/placing a malware in the Portal.
    6. Perpetrating any undesirable action such as overwhelmingly increasing load to the Portal, servers, sending unwanted messages to it or avalanching it with sessions, communication requests or even destroying it.
    7. Attempting to deface the Portal or any of its components.
    8. Using the Portal, its services or selling/reselling or offering for commercial benefit or use.
    9. Imparting any untrue/unfair news or information about the Portal and ascribing it to the SBP unrightfully
  2. For fraudulent purposes or in connection with a criminal offence or other unlawful activity:
    1. To damage, disable, or overburden SBP’s servers or network or impair the portal or interfere with any other party’s use of the portal.
    2. To gain unauthorized access to the portal, portal accounts, computers or network by hacking, password mining or any other means.
    3. For posting or transmitting any unlawful, threatening, libelous, defamatory, obscene, scandalous, inflammatory, pornographic, or profane material or any material that could constitute or encourage conduct that would be considered a criminal offense, give rise to civil liability, or otherwise violate any law.
  3. SBP will co-operate with investigations by any law enforcement agency or any relevant authority in the investigation of suspected criminal activity and/or violation of its systems and networks.

1. Changes To/Operation of the Portal:
  1. The Portal may change in format and content at any time.
  2. The Portal may be suspended from operation for support or maintenance work, in order to update the content or for any other reason.
  3. SBP reserves the right to terminate access to the Portal at any time and without prior notice.

1. Loss of Information:
  SBP cannot be held responsible for any information lost during online entries by Users, or other unforeseen external factors, such as power breakdowns or system failures.

1. Email Communication:
  SBP does not guarantee that any e-mails/SMS/OTP from the Portal will be sent to the RE or the User by SBP, nor does SBP warrant the privacy and/or security of e-mails/SMS/OTP during transmission.

1. Strict Internal IT Security Controls:
  1. It is the responsibility of users to plan and implement strict internal IT controls. The security controls are safeguards or countermeasures, designed to protect the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the user IT systems.
  2. Users are also responsible for ensuring that these controls are appropriately used by carrying out a periodic review.
  3. If User makes use of another type of browser software that is not recommended by SBP, the RE should check with its software supplier to make sure that the browser has applicable secure socket layer encryption capability.
  4. It is important that Users does not store credentials in browser and sign out and close the browser before leaving his/her computer unattended to minimize the chances of unauthorized access to his/her confidential information.

1. Inform SBP for any anomaly:
  It is the responsibility of Users to inform SBP if any anomaly, i.e. unusual pattern, is identified in the use of the Portal that does not conform to these terms and conditions.

Contact information:

SBP is committed to achieving an optimal standard of accessibility. Any questions, comments, concerns or complaints regarding the access, use, administration or any other aspect of the Portal may be directed to [email protected]