APS & Background: APS has been incorporated as a limited liability company that serves as a co-operative established by and for the banking and financial industry in Afghanistan. APS is based in Kabul, APS will structure itself to function as a self-regulating Organization (SRO) and will exercise oversight on the operations of the system, establish rules and procedures, standards and in general be responsible for the effective functioning of the system. APS will also act as a shared data processing and communications link, offering member institutions the opportunity to automate and standardize their transactions utilizing Industry Best Practices, to comply with modern international standards, be guaranteed the highest level of security, and to take advantage of shared investment in technical and operational innovation. APS will provide a platform for the delivery of modern banking products and services such as payment cards, ATM, POS, and mobile banking. APS member financial institutions can select to use specific APS services, or indeed the entire suite of APS services, depending on their specific business requirements. APS will also provide member institutions opportunities to reduce their operating costs, reduce their operational risk and inefficiencies, and increase their revenue and business generation potential. It should be clearly emphasized that the primary raison d’être of APS is to provide a cost effective non-cash domestic payments switch and associated shared processing services to the Afghan financial services industry. Such services are widely considered to be essential components of any effective economy and deliver significant cost efficiencies and economies of scale to all participants.