Finance Division has prepared a draft legal package to amend the Payment Systems and Electronic Fund Transfers (PS&EFT) Act, 2007, aimed at strengthening Pakistan’s digital payment ecosystem. The proposed amendment mandates that government and retail entities provide at least one digital mode of payment, including Raast QR codes, and grants enforcement powers to local governments. The draft has been sent by Finance Secretary to the Prime Minister’s Office for in-principle approval, after which it will move to Cabinet and the Cabinet Committee for Disposal of Legislative Cases. This step reflects a strategic push to embed digital payments at both the retail and grassroots levels, reinforcing the broader goal of a cashless economy.
Pakistan has already made significant strides in digitizing public finance through the establishment of the Government Payments and Receipts Transformation Unit under Ministry of Finance. GPRTU will serve as the central coordination body to enable seamless integration of government entities with Raast, the country’s instant payment system. The unit’s responsibilities include building government-facing Raast Connect, guiding departments on onboarding with the payments aggregator, facilitating business process re-engineering, and coordinating technical support from NITB and provincial IT boards. This framework aims to standardize and accelerate G2P and P2G digitization, ensuring end-to-end efficiency and transparency across public sector payments.
Under the Cashless Pakistan initiative, ambitious targets have been set for December 2026. These include expanding active digital merchants to 2 million, increasing digital banking users to 120 million, and scaling annual digital transactions to 15 billion. Digitization of non-tax P2G payments is expected to reach 100 percent, while direct digital remittances into bank accounts are projected to surpass 80 percent. As of November 2025, Pakistan has recorded 3.3 billion digital transactions, with 89 percent of specific P2G streams already digitized. Financial inclusion has reached 67 percent, with a roadmap to 70 percent by next year and a steady reduction in the gender gap for access to financial services.
High-impact federal entities, including Power Division, Petroleum Division, Pakistan Railways, NADRA, and Pakistan Post Office, are at various stages of adopting Raast-based payments, with full integration expected by 2026. On the disbursement side, BISP, Pakistan Military Accounts Department, and Central Directorate of National Savings have initiated large-scale transitions, with complete digitization scheduled between March and June 2026. Provinces including Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, and Gilgit-Baltistan are leading in education, healthcare, highways, housing, and revenue departments, moving salary, pension, vendor, and fee payments to digital channels. Islamabad Capital Territory has already mandated digital payment acceptance at retail outlets, while other provinces are updating or drafting legal frameworks to support adoption. Tangible wins include a fully integrated e-Stamp solution for ICT linked with SBP’s 1-Link system and expansion of internet connectivity to schools, health units, and public Wi-Fi across major locations.
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