PRIME Minister Shehbaz Sharif has once again emphasized that the ongoing initiatives to transform the country into a cashless economy will play a vital role in ensuring sustainable development.
Chairing a meeting to review progress on these initiatives, he directed the relevant authorities to intensify awareness campaigns in rural areas to eliminate the traditional cash-based economy and accelerate the shift towards a fully digital financial system. In a related development, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari inaugurated the direct cash transfer initiative under the Sindh Government’s Wheat Growers Support Programme 2025 — enabling farmers to purchase DAP and urea fertilizers through the Benazir Hari Card.
Cashless economy is a cherished objective as it offers benefits like increased convenience, faster transactions and lower costs for businesses by eliminating physical cash handling. It also provides enhanced security through digital verification, increases financial transparency for tax purposes and promotes financial inclusion by giving more people access to financial services. It is because of the overwhelming facilitation and a wide range of services offered by them that initiatives like digital wallets, mobile/phone banking, RAAST, Point of Sale (PoS) Terminals and QR Code Merchants became instantly popular not only in urban but also in rural areas of Pakistan. This is evident from the fact that the country recorded 9.1 billion digital transactions worth Rs. 612 trillion during 2024, constituting 88% of all retail transactions. No doubt, the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Information Technology, Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), State Bank of Pakistan and other institutions concerned are making progress in implementing the cashless economy roadmap. For the first time, during the holy month of Ramadan, the government successfully transferred financial assistance to deserving families under the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) through digital wallets. All 10 million wallets will be activated by the end of the current month and the next tranche will be transferred to the deserving families through these wallets. Payments for electricity and gas bills were now being facilitated through RAAST QR codes, enabling billions of rupees in transactions to be conducted digitally. The meeting was informed that the mobile Apps created for getting the government services in Islamabad will be linked with the RAAST system.
Furthermore, acquiring licenses for new businesses has also been linked with the system of digital payments and the facility of payment through QR codes has also been provided at all the shops. The government is also issuing licenses for setting up digital banks across the country. All this represents a major shift from cash-based transactions towards digital channels, a key goal of Pakistan’s Digital Vision but there are serious impediments that hamper growth at the desired pace. Cashless economy requires un-interrupting and quality phone and data services but mobile signals and data services are the poorest even in urban centres and whatever people get is frequently disturbed by the Government itself on the pretext of law and order situation. Apart from lack of digital infrastructure, there are also issues of financial literacy, public trust, cyber threats, risks to personal data and information and tax-related concerns of the business community, which need to be addressed to the satisfaction of the general public. It is fundamentally the responsibility of the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecom as well as the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) to get all cellular operators on board to ensure quality and fail-proof services to people in every nook and corner of the country. Electrification of the remaining areas of the country and incentives for adoption of solar technology will also facilitate measures for realization of the goal of a cashless economy. The process will also complement efforts aimed at promoting transparency and good governance.
