Islamabad: Minister of State for Railways and Finance, Mr. Bilal Azhar Kayani, chaired a significant meeting at the Finance Division to evaluate the progress of the Prime Minister’s “Cashless Pakistan” initiative, focusing on digital payments. The meeting gathered senior figures from both public and private sectors to discuss the current year’s dashboard indicators and strategize the next phase of the initiative.
According to Press Information Department, the Cashless Pakistan initiative has made notable advancements in the past year, driven by a rapid expansion of digital payment infrastructure. The number of merchants accepting electronic payments has quadrupled in the last fiscal year. Additionally, the digitization efforts by the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) have resulted in 99% of payments at service centers being digitized, with passport centers now accepting digital payments to streamline services. The Government of Pakistan has reported approximately 75% digital payment acceptance across Centralized and Self-Accounting Entities.
During the meeting, discussions were primarily focused on three critical indicators: active and unique users of digital channels, the volume of digital transactions, and the number of active merchants. Participants deliberated on the relevance of each indicator to the initiative, assessing definitions related to usage, activity, and uniqueness. The Committee agreed to establish definitions for active app users, merchants, and unique digital payment users. The Minister of State also guided private sector members to compile recommendations for tax policy reforms to support the initiative.
Mr. Kayani underscored the significance of maintaining the momentum of the Cashless Pakistan agenda, which aims to improve public convenience, promote transparency, and enhance economic documentation. He affirmed the Government’s dedication to collaborating with regulators, financial institutions, fintech companies, and the private sector to broaden digital payment adoption and boost financial inclusion. He also emphasized the necessity for accurate and validated data on the dashboard to ensure credible progress measurement.
The meeting included senior representatives from the Finance Division, State Bank of Pakistan, Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication, NADRA, and the Pakistan Digital Authority. Private sector participants comprised leaders from the Pakistan Banking Association, Easypaisa Digital Bank, JazzCash, Bank Alfalah, JS Bank, Karandaaz Pakistan, and other key institutions in the digital payments industry.
The Minister of State expressed gratitude to all participants and directed that collaboration between public and private stakeholders be reinforced to achieve the Cashless Pakistan targets.