The Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif has directed the formation of three specialized committees to advance Pakistan’s transition towards a cashless economy.
Chairing a high-level meeting on digital payments, the Prime Minister announced the creation of the Digital Payments Innovation and Adoption Committee, the Digital Public Infrastructure Committee, and the Government Payments Committee to streamline digital transactions in both the public and private sectors.
These committees will be tasked with making recommendations on enabling easier digital transactions between citizens and businesses, raising awareness about digital financial systems, operationalizing the Pakistan Digital Authority, and formulating a National Digital Master Plan. The goal is to simplify government-to-business and government-to-citizen financial dealings through technology and innovation.
The Prime Minister instructed that digital transactions must be made more affordable and accessible than cash payments to accelerate adoption. He emphasized expanding the scope of the RAAST payment system beyond the federal level to all provinces, describing it as critical for enhancing transparency and economic efficiency.
“Cashless economies are the backbone of developed and thriving nations,” the Prime Minister stated, adding that digital transformation must include cutting-edge technologies to improve financial services.
Officials briefed the Prime Minister on ongoing initiatives. Currently, over 40 million users are benefiting from the RAAST system, and efforts are underway to increase this number. All financial transactions of the federal government are now being conducted through RAAST, with the system gradually being implemented across provinces.
The briefing also underlined the significance of fintech in supporting the broader ecosystem and confirmed the establishment of the Pakistan Digital Authority, which is actively working to drive the cashless economy agenda.
The Digital Public Infrastructure Committee will function under the leadership of the Ministry of Information Technology. A steering committee on “Cashless Pakistan” has also been set up within the IT Ministry Secretariat. Under the Smart Islamabad pilot project, the IT Ministry is working to make Islamabad the first cashless city in Pakistan.
The meeting was attended by Federal Ministers Ahsan Iqbal, Ali Pervaiz Malik, Shaza Fatima Khawaja, Dr. Musadik Malik, the State Bank Governor, FBR Chairman, and senior officials from relevant departments.
