CASE STUDY
Building Raqami
The opportunity for Islamic digital banking in Pakistan is massive. Despite strong demand, rising digital adoption, and regulatory support, the Islamic banking segment remains largely underserved. Raqami Islamic Digital Bank partnered with Codebase Technologies to bridge this gap, launching one of Pakistan’s first fully digital, Shariah-compliant banking experiences
powered by Digibanc.
Project Overview
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Pakistan is the world’s second-largest Muslim-majority country, with over 240 million Muslims accounting for 96% of the population. Yet Islamic banking assets represent only 19.4% of total banking assets, spread across just 22 Islamic banks, 23 Islamic mutual funds, and 5 Islamic insurance companies – a large, underserved market relative to demand.
The timing favored a digital-first challenger. Pakistan’s population is young (median age 20.6, with 28.5% aged 18–34), increasingly connected (75.9% mobile connectivity, 45.6% internet penetration), and newly supported by regulation: the State Bank of Pakistan’s Raast instant payment system and its 2022 Licensing and Regulatory Framework for Digital Banks, part of a broader push to lift financial inclusion to 75% by 2028.
Raqami Islamic Digital Bank was established to meet that opportunity: to become Pakistan’s leading Shariah-compliant, customer-centric digital bank, built on two pillars – strict adherence to Shariah principles, and a fully digital model designed to reach people who had never used a banking app before, from students and women managing households to farmers and small business owners.
To execute that vision, Raqami selected Codebase Technologies as its digital transformation partner and our proprietary Digibanc platform as the technology foundation, drawing on our proven expertise delivering digital banking solutions across Pakistan, MENA, and APAC.
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Client's Mission & Expectations
Raqami Islamic Digital Bank saw a unique opportunity to redefine Islamic banking in Pakistan and decided to build a fully digital, shariah-compliant digital bank built around the needs of modern Pakistanis. The goal was to simplify everyday banking while making Islamic financial services more accessible, intuitive, and inclusive for individuals and businesses across the country. Achieving this vision meant rethinking every aspect of the customer journey, from onboarding and product design to everyday banking interactions.
This ambition formed the foundation of everything that followed. Raqami sought a partner capable of translating its vision into an intuitive, scalable, and future-ready banking experience. They selected Codebase Technologies to bring that vision to life using our proprietary Digibanc platform, drawing on our expertise in digital banking, implementation experience, and Islamic finance capabilities.
“Banking in Pakistan hasn’t fully caught up with how people actually live. Customers carry smartphones and are deeply connected online, yet for many financial services, they still have to visit physical branches. The Islamic segment, in particular, despite its strong market potential, continues to punch below its weight. Our goal at Raqami is to address these gaps by bringing Shariah-compliant banking directly to people, where they are, with solutions that are convenient, digital, and built around their needs.”
Umair Aijaz, CEO, Raqami
How Codebase Technologies Made It Possible
Raqami engaged Codebase Technologies right from the formative stages, while the bank was still taking shape on whiteboards and slide decks, to collaboratively address the foundational questions together: What does a truly digital, Shariah-compliant onboarding flow look like? How do you design banking products for customers who have never used one before? What does the core architecture need to support ten years from now?
Digibanc provided the bank with a comprehensive suite of capabilities, including Islamic Core Banking, Digital Onboarding, Account Management, Lending, Payments, Transfers, Cards, Insurance, and more, all delivered through a modular, API-first architecture that enabled rapid deployment while providing the flexibility to scale and evolve over time.
“With Digibanc, Codebase Technologies provided us with an end-to-end, fully integrated digital banking platform that not only met our Shariah-compliant requirements but also gave us the flexibility to innovate and scale… This streamlined the implementation process, significantly reduced time-to-market, and allowed us to move from concept to pilot to commercial launch with confidence.”
Abid Raza Rizvi, CBO, Raqami
What Digibanc Delivered at Commercial Go-Live
Frictionless, Shariah-compliant onboarding
Digital account opening integrated directly with NADRA (Pakistan’s National Database and Registration Authority) for biometric verification. A customer enters their CNIC, completes facial verification, and is confirmed against the national database within seconds – no document uploads, no printed forms, no manual review queues. Shariah compliance is disclosed upfront, before registration is complete, not buried in terms and conditions.
Real-time payments and transfers
Instant Fund Transfers (IBFT) over Pakistan’s real-time payment rails using a mobile number, account number, or QR code; QR payments for merchants with no card machine required; consolidated bill payments covering utilities, credit cards, education fees, real estate instalments, club memberships, and government taxes in a single interface.
Everyday banking, self-service
Real-time mobile top-ups, self-service debit card issuance (order, activate, block, set limits – no forms, no calls), and in-app account and limit controls, including CNIC updates that traditionally required a branch visit.
Islamic financial products
Shariah-compliant term deposits structured on Mudarabah principles, with profit calculated and distributed automatically at maturity, plus embedded transaction insurance configured at the platform level rather than sold as an optional add-on.
A composable integration layer
Digibanc served as the central orchestration layer connecting Raqami to best-in-class third-party providers, starting with NADRA for identity, so the bank didn’t have to build every capability in-house.
UI/UX built for first-time digital banking customers
A modern, digital-first interface (a first for an Islamic digital bank in Pakistan), with minimal distractions, clear prioritization of daily-use products, and interactions designed to feel instantly familiar to a younger, mobile-native audience.
“Our local Codebase team brought deep expertise in Pakistan’s technology landscape, ecosystem players, and strategic execution direction… It ticks every box a true digital bank needs to disrupt in this age and in a market like Pakistan.”
Raheel Iqbal, Managing Partner, Codebase Technologies
Outcomes
Raqami’s partnership with Codebase Technologies progressed through concrete regulatory milestones — from foundational design work, through extensive review and iteration, to SBP approval to commence pilot operations, and finally to a full commercial banking licence — making Raqami one of the first fully digital, Shariah-compliant banks in Pakistan to offer a comprehensive suite of mobile-first financial services nationwide.
For Raqami
The launch unlocked a cost structure fundamentally different from that of a traditional bank – no branch network to maintain, no paper-based processes, and no geography-driven expansion costs. Customer acquisition scales through app downloads rather than branch rollouts, and because new products are configured using Digibanc’s ready-made components, they can be launched in weeks rather than requiring a complete rebuild.
For Pakistan’s Financial Ecosystem
Raqami’s launch is proof that regulatory compliance, Islamic finance principles, and mobile-first delivery can coexist at scale—a validation of the digital banking licensing pathway the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) built for the institutions that follow.
For Customers
The impact is direct. Rural residents, students, women managing households, and small business owners can now open a Shariah-compliant account, send money, pay bills, top up mobile credit, manage cards, and adjust limits, all in real time from a single app, without visiting a branch.
“Today, Raqami stands as proof that such groundbreaking banking is not only possible in Pakistan, but fully scalable. With the right technology, expertise, and regulatory support, we have created a platform that positions Raqami as a pace-setter.”
Javaid Sher Ali, CTO, Raqami
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Raqami Islamic Digital Bank?
Raqami Islamic Digital Bank is one of Pakistan’s first fully digital, Shariah-compliant banks, built to provide mobile-first financial services for individuals and businesses across the country.
What platform powers Raqami?
Raqami is built end-to-end on Codebase Technologies’ Digibanc™ platform – a composable, API-driven digital banking and fintech platform with the full suite of ready to deploy Islamic banking components.
How does Raqami verify customer identity?
Onboarding integrates directly with NADRA, Pakistan’s national identity database, using CNIC entry and facial verification to confirm identity within seconds, with no paperwork or branch visit required.
What regulatory milestones has Raqami reached?
Raqami progressed from State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) approval to commence pilot operations to securing a full commercial banking licence, becoming one of the first fully digital Shariah-compliant banks in the country.
What digital banking features does Raqami have?
Raqami launched with a comprehensive suite of digital banking capabilities, including digital onboarding, Islamic core banking, instant payments and transfers, bill payments, debit cards, account management, term deposits, transaction insurance, and self-service card and limit controls, but new capabilities are continuously being added.
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Pakistan is home to over 240 million Muslims (96% of the population), yet Islamic banking assets account for only 19.4% of total banking assets.
Pakistan’s digital banking landscape is evolving rapidly, with Islamic digital banking emerging as one of the country’s strongest growth opportunities. Home to over 240 million Muslims, representing 96% of the population and making Pakistan the world’s second-largest Muslim-majority country, the demand for accessible, Shariah-compliant financial services continues to rise. Yet despite this significant market potential, Islamic banking assets account for only 19.4% of total banking assets.
Raqami Islamic Digital Bank was established to particularly address this gap. To bring this vision to life, Raqami partnered with Codebase Technologies and leveraged our Digibanc platform to build one of Pakistan’s first fully digital Islamic banks. Through this partnership, we supported Raqami at every stage of the journey, from product design and ecosystem integrations to regulatory preparation, ultimately helping the bank secure approval from the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to commence pilot operations before progressing toward full commercial launch.
Being a fully digital Islamic bank, Raqami launched with a comprehensive suite of mobile-first banking capabilities, including frictionless digital onboarding with biometric verification, instant fund transfers, QR payments, consolidated bill payments, debit card issuance, account controls, and embedded financial services. Built on Digibanc, the bank is positioned to continuously scale and introduce new capabilities through the platform’s composable, API-driven architecture, while enabling Pakistani customers to access secure, Shariah-compliant banking entirely digitally and helping Raqami capture a significant underserved market opportunity within Pakistan’s Islamic banking sector.
