Islamabad: Pakistan aims to digitize all government payments by December 2026, including those of state-owned enterprises, as part of its broader push towards a cashless economy, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) informed lawmakers this week.
Briefing the National Assembly Standing Committee on Finance, chaired by Syed Naveed Qamar, SBP Governor Jameel Ahmed said the central bank is working on a roadmap to ensure that federal and provincial government payments are digitized by June 2026, with state-owned enterprises completing the transition by the end of the same year.
As part of this initiative, Pakistan will integrate its domestic instant payment system, Raast, with the Arab Monetary Fund’s (AMF) Buna platform. The integration will enable faster and more secure cross-border remittances from overseas Pakistanis, though SBP clarified that outward remittance flows would not be permitted under this arrangement.
Since its launch, Raast has shown rapid adoption, with transaction volumes that once took a year to reach now being processed in just nine days. SBP officials said the shift to digital systems will cover salaries, pensions, utility bills, and tax payments.
Minister of State for Finance Bilal Azhar Kayani told the committee that the government would bear associated costs to encourage adoption, positioning Pakistan as a leader in regional digital payments. Finance Secretary Imdadullah Bosal added that the transition would be phased in gradually to minimize disruption.
Deputy Governor Saleem Ullah highlighted that Pakistan has a strong financial infrastructure in place, with 95 million active mobile banking users, 226 million bank accounts, 19,000 bank branches, 20,000 ATMs, and 850,000 QR-enabled merchants. He also confirmed that offline transactions would be supported and consumers would not be charged fees for cashless payments.
Committee members welcomed the plan but raised concerns about the effectiveness of the digital ecosystem, particularly as nearly half of Pakistan’s economy remains undocumented. MNA Hina Rabbani Khar questioned the feasibility of cashless services in areas with unreliable internet connectivity, stressing the importance of offline transaction capability.
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