Moaaz Manzoor

Pakistan is advancing plans to transition toward a cashless economy, with the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) informing the National Assembly Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue on Thursday that all federal, provincial, and local government transactions—including those of state-owned enterprises—will be digitized by June 2026.

The committee, which met for its 18th session under the chairmanship of Syed Naveed Qamar, was briefed on the rapidly evolving digital payments ecosystem, pending legislation, and the government’s broader reform agenda. Senior officials attending the meeting included Minister of State for Finance and Revenue Bilal Azhar Kiyani, Finance Secretary Imdadullah Bosal, SBP Governor Jameel Ahmad, Deputy Governor Saleem Ullah, and SECP Chairman Akif Saeed.

Committee members present were Dr. Nafisa Shah, Hina Rabbani Khar, Dr. Mirza Ikhtiar Baig, Zeb Jaffer, Sharmila Faruqui, Muhammad Jawed Hanif, and Shahida Begum. SBP Governor Jameel Ahmad said at the meeting that Pakistan’s financial system already supports 226 million accounts and 46 million Raast IDs nationwide. He noted that five new digital banks have received in-principle approval, while Mashreq Bank launched its digital operations in Pakistan in just 12 months, compared to a typical five-year timeline in other jurisdictions.

He highlighted that 88 percent of retail transactions are now digital, reflecting both infrastructure expansion and growing public trust. He added that several consumer protection measures are in place, including a liability framework for banks, multifactor authentication, biometric verification, chip-and-PIN cards, and a two-hour cooling-off period for transactions. However, challenges such as low financial literacy and regulatory gaps still need to be addressed.

Deputy Governor Saleem Ullah outlined the scale of Pakistan’s digital infrastructure, which includes 19,000 bank branches, 20,000 ATMs, nearly 195,000 point-of-sale machines, and more than 700,000 branchless banking agents. Mobile banking users now stand at 96 million, while 17 million people actively use internet banking.

Minister of State Bilal Azhar Kiyani said the Prime Minister’s Cashless Economy Initiative is moving forward, with three subcommittees working on innovation, adoption, and government payments. He stressed the government’s commitment to ensuring that all salaries, pensions, and welfare transfers shift to digital platforms, while retailers will be required to provide consumers with accessible digital payment options.

The committee also took up legislative matters, reviewing the Corporate Social Responsibility Bill, 2025, introduced by Dr. Nafisa Shah. It directed the Ministry of Finance and the SECP to hold consultations and submit refined proposals before the next meeting. SECP Chairman Akif Saeed briefed members on CSR compliance, noting that out of 447 company accounts reviewed, 315 reported CSR activities, though many did not disclose the amounts spent.

Briefing on the new Electric Vehicle Policy was deferred to the next session. The committee also approved the minutes of its previous meeting.

Credit: INP-WealthPk