Cashless Pakistan Push Sees Digital Merchants Cross 2 Million

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s digital payments drive has recorded a major expansion, with active digital payment merchants rising above 2 million during the first year of the government’s Cashless Pakistan initiative, Minister of State for Railways and Finance Bilal Azhar Kayani said on Monday.

The figures were reviewed during a high-level meeting at the Finance Division, where officials assessed progress on the government’s plan to reduce reliance on cash and bring more economic activity into formal digital channels. The review showed annual digital transactions increasing from 6.9 billion to 11.3 billion.

Officials said the number of active digital payment merchants had grown from around 500,000 to more than 2 million, supported by the Raast QR Code system. Digital banking users also expanded to more than 135 million, reflecting wider public adoption of mobile and account-based payment services.

Kayani told the meeting that the government wanted to maintain the momentum behind Pakistan’s digital transformation. He said authorities would continue working with regulators, banks, fintech firms and the private sector to widen access, improve financial inclusion and support a more transparent documented economy.

The Cashless Pakistan initiative was launched in June 2025 under the supervision of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Its stated goals include making payments more convenient for citizens, increasing transparency in financial flows and helping document transactions that previously remained outside formal economic records.

The review also highlighted progress in financial inclusion, which officials said had reached 69 percent, while the gender gap in access to financial services continued to narrow. This part of the initiative is significant because digital banking and mobile payment systems can give more citizens direct access to financial tools without depending only on physical branches.

The meeting examined plans to digitise public sector payments, including 25 high-impact federal and provincial entities identified for complete digitisation through Raast by December 2026. Officials also noted progress on government-to-person payments, with around 75 percent digital payment acceptance reported at centralised and self-accounting public entities.

To improve credibility of the reported progress, the government has hired a third party to assess implementation, validate data and reduce duplication in reporting. Kayani also called for tighter monitoring so that public funds are used prudently and policy decisions are based on reliable figures.

For Pakistan, the expansion of digital merchants and banking users could influence tax documentation, small business payments, welfare transfers, retail transactions and financial transparency. The next stage will depend on whether the government can keep systems reliable, protect users from fraud and bring smaller merchants into the digital network without increasing compliance burdens.