Islamabad 12 August: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) will launch a pilot program for a central bank digital currency (CBDC) later this year in collaboration with Japanese blockchain company Soramitsu, Nikkei Asia reported.
The pilot, aimed at testing a digital version of the Pakistani rupee, will run on Soramitsu’s CBDC platform. It is being funded through Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry under its Global South Future-Oriented Co-Creation Project.
SBP Governor Jameel Ahmad recently said the central bank is “building up our capacity” for introducing a digital currency. Experts say the initiative could help reduce the costs associated with cash distribution in rural areas, where bank account ownership remains low.
Soramitsu has implemented similar projects, including Cambodia’s Bakong system with the National Bank of Cambodia, as well as pilots in Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. In January, SBP and Soramitsu teams visited Cambodia’s central bank to study its digital payment framework.
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With a population of 250 million and a GDP of about $400 billion—eight times that of Cambodia—Pakistan marks Soramitsu’s most ambitious CBDC project so far. The program also coincides with Pakistan’s deepening economic engagement with China through the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, part of Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative.
To address Pakistan’s patchy internet and power infrastructure, Soramitsu is also developing offline CBDC capabilities, enabling smartphone transactions without internet access—a model that could benefit other developing nations facing similar challenges.
