Lahore, November 22, 2022 (PPI-OT):Finance Department’s Special Secretary Muhammad Ali Randhawa and State Bank of Pakistan’s Finance Director Qader Baksh signed an MoU to launch Raast on PITB-developed e-Pay Punjab with Finance Minister Muhammad Mohsin Leghari in the chair at the civil secretariat.

Through this system, the Government of Punjab will disburse payments digitally to citizens and businesses directly in their accounts i.e. vendor payments, wheat procurement payments, subsidies, salaries, pensions and PSPA grants etc.

This will put an end to the cumbersome system of making payments through treasury cheques. Finance Minister Muhammad Mohsin Leghari applauded PITB for devising initiatives to make the lives of people easier. The partnership between ePay Punjab and Raast aims to improve financial services in Pakistan and facilitate cash flow monitoring.

According to the agreement, the revenue collected at the provincial level can be transferred directly to the State Bank by linking ePay, he noted. The digitalization of funds will also help in future financial planning and efficient use of funds.

The digital distribution of financial resources through collaboration between ePay Punjab and Raast will reduce the chances of human errors in the manual system and the collaboration between Raast and ePay will ensure transparency in the tax system through prompt payments of all types of dues, he added. Under the agreement, in the first phase, the digital ecosystem will be nurtured for finance with the initial team, followed by engagement with other stakeholders.

Raast and ePay collaboration will ensure the direct transfer of salaries, pensions, zakat, natural disaster relief, social security provision, wheat procurement and vendors, he further said. PITB IT-Ops Director General Faisal Yousaf briefed the audience about the IT interventions rolled out by PITB including e-Pay Punjab and apprised as to how these technologies are providing user-friendly services to the citizens.

Director Finance Qader Baksh assured them of their cooperation in extending the services of the Raast Payment Gateway to the Government of Punjab. The parties have agreed to use the Raast Payment Gateway enabling the Government of Punjab to send the payments using the Electronic Fund Transfers mode.

For more information, contact:
Directorate General Public Relations,
Government of the Punjab
Lahore, Pakistan
Tel: +92-42-9201390-86
Website: www.punjab.gov.pk