Overview
- Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday directed authorities to ensure 100% of remittances from abroad are processed digitally as part of a renewed push for a cashless economy.
- Officials told the meeting that Pakistan already recorded 11.9 billion digital transactions last year and that 92% of remittances, 137 million mobile banking users and about 2.003 million merchants were using digital payments.
- The government said payments to 10 million Benazir Income Support Programme beneficiaries are now sent to digital wallets and that 99% of NADRA payments have been digitised, cutting cash payments sharply.
- Implementation will rely on banks, targets set by the Pakistan Banks' Association, and wider use of the State Bank’s Raast instant payment system plus stepped-up public awareness campaigns to onboard merchants and users.
- An independent third-party validation of the cashless initiative is under way with a final report and recommendations due in November 2026 to assess gaps in infrastructure, interoperability and outreach.