ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday chaired a meeting on the promotion of a cashless economy and digital payments, praising the economic team for progress made during the past year in shifting Pakistan’s economy towards digital transactions.
The prime minister said moving the national economy to a cashless system would support sustainable economic growth and promote transparency.
He appreciated the economic team over a 300 per cent increase in one year in the number of active merchants using QR codes for digital payments. He also directed that the awareness campaign to encourage merchants to adopt QR code-based digital payments be made more effective.
Prime Minister Shehbaz said the rise in mobile banking app users from 95 million to 137 million within a year was an important achievement. He urged banks and financial institutions to play a full role in promoting the cashless economy.
The prime minister also directed that remittances coming from abroad should be made 100 per cent digital.
He commended the initiative to shift Benazir Income Support Programme payments to a digital system, describing it as transparent, faster and easier for beneficiaries.
During the meeting, officials briefed the prime minister on the progress of measures for a cashless economy.
The briefing stated that from June 2025 to June 2026, the number of merchants receiving payments digitally had increased by 300 per cent to 2.003 million.
It was informed that 99 per cent of NADRA payments had been digitised, while cash payments had declined from 71 per cent to only 1 per cent.
Officials said all payments to 10 million Benazir Income Support Programme users were being made through digital wallets.
The meeting was told that the number of mobile banking app users currently stood at 137 million. From July 2025 to June 2026, 11.9 billion digital transactions were recorded.
According to the briefing, 92 per cent of remittance amounts received during the last year came through digital channels.
The meeting was also informed that third-party validation regarding the cashless economy was under way, and the final report, along with recommendations, would be presented in November 2026.
Officials further said the Pakistan Banking Association had assigned targets to member banks for promoting digital payments, including the RAAST system.
Federal ministers Ahsan Iqbal Cheema, Muhammad Aurangzeb, Attaullah Tarar, Shaza Fatima Khawaja and Ali Pervaiz Malik, Minister of State for Finance Bilal Azhar Kayani, State Bank Governor Jameel Ahmed, the NADRA chairman and senior officials of relevant institutions attended the meeting.
