Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Monday that Pakistan’s transition towards a cashless economy is essential for achieving lasting economic stability and sustainable national growth.
Chairing a meeting to review progress on these initiatives, the PM directed the relevant authorities to intensify awareness campaigns in rural areas to eliminate the traditional cash-based economy and accelerate the shift towards a fully digital financial system.
“The entire world is moving towards a digital economy, and Pakistan must move forward alongside it,” Shehbaz said. He noted that from the very beginning, his government had prioritised measures to promote digitalisation, which were now yielding positive results.
He mentioned that for the first time, during the holy month of Ramazan, the government successfully transferred financial assistance to deserving families under the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) through digital wallets.
PM Shehbaz underscored that a cashless economy would improve governance and significantly curb corruption. He instructed all relevant departments to achieve the set targets within the stipulated timeframe.
PM Shehbaz commended the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of IT, Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), State Bank of Pakistan, and other concerned institutions for their satisfactory progress in implementing the cashless economy roadmap.
The meeting was briefed on the progress of various initiatives under the vision of a cashless economy. It was informed that payments for electricity and gas bills were now being facilitated through Raast QR codes, enabling billions of rupees in transactions to be conducted digitally.
Meanwhile, the PM was also informed about the progress on the 10 million digital wallets under BISP. “All wallets will be activated by the end of current month, and the next tranche will be transferred to the deserving families through these wallets,” the meeting was told.
It was further informed that the mobile apps that were created for getting the government services in Islamabad will be linked with Raast system. Furthermore, acquiring licenses for new businesses has also been linked with the system of digital payments, and the facility of payment through QR codes has also been provided at all the shops.
The government is also issuing licenses for setting up digital banks across the country. “Under these measures, financial inclusion of over 68% population of country has been completed so far, whereas more will be done by next year”.
PM Shehbaz directed that the scope of financial inclusion should be further enhanced.
The meeting was also briefed regarding the next year’s targets.
The meeting was attended by Federal Ministers Muhammad Aurangzeb, Ahad Khan Cheema, Attaullah Tarar, Shaza Fatima Khawaja, Minister of State Bilal Azhar Kayani, Governor State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Jameel Ahmed, National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) Chairman Lt Gen Muhammad Munir, FBR Chairman Rashid Langrial and other relevant officers.
