The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has unveiled plans to transform the country into a cashless economy, targeting full digitization of federal and provincial government payments by June 2026, and state-owned enterprises by December 2026.
Briefing the National Assembly Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue, SBP Governor highlighted that Pakistan’s digital payment ecosystem now supports 226 million accounts, 46 million RAST IDs, and that 88% of retail transactions are conducted digitally.
Five new digital banks have received in-principle approvals, while Mashreq Bank launched its digital operations in Pakistan within 12 months—significantly faster than the global five-year norm.
Officials noted that Pakistan’s payment infrastructure includes 96 million mobile banking app users, 17 million internet banking users, 19,000 bank branches, 20,000 ATMs, 700,000 branchless banking agents, 195,000 POS machines, 9,500 online merchants, and 850,000 QR and wallet merchants.
The SBP emphasized that the digital shift will enhance financial inclusion, reduce cash dependency, improve transparency, and boost economic efficiency. Measures such as MDR removal, enhanced cybersecurity, a liability framework for banks, and a two-hour transaction cooling period are part of the central bank’s efforts to strengthen the system.
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The government has also scrapped the 5% tax on foreign tech companies and online platforms supplying digitally ordered goods and services, further encouraging digital adoption.
