Islamabad: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif chaired a high-level meeting on Tuesday to review progress on Pakistan’s transition towards a cashless economy and the expansion of digital payment systems.
The prime minister praised the economic team’s performance over the past year, saying that shifting to a cashless economy would promote sustainable economic growth, improve transparency, and modernise the country’s financial system.
He commended the 300% increase in the number of active merchants using QR codes for digital payments over the past year and directed authorities to strengthen awareness campaigns to encourage more businesses to adopt digital payment methods.
The meeting was informed that the number of mobile banking app users had increased from 95 million to 137 million within a year, while 11.9 billion digital transactions were recorded between July 2025 and June 2026.
Officials also briefed the meeting that 2.003 million merchants are now receiving digital payments, NADRA has digitised 99% of its payments, and cash payments have dropped from 71% to just 1%.
The prime minister appreciated the digitisation of payments under the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP), with payments to 10 million beneficiaries now being made through digital wallets, describing the system as more transparent, faster, and easier for recipients.
He directed that 100% of overseas remittances should be processed digitally and urged banks and financial institutions to play a greater role in promoting digital payments, including the RAAST system.
Officials added that 92% of remittances received over the past year were processed digitally, while a third-party validation of Pakistan’s cashless economy initiative is underway, with a final report and recommendations expected in November 2026.
