Islamabad, March 3, 2026(Kamran Raja) Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif chaired a high-level review meeting in Islamabad to assess progress on the promotion of a cashless economy and the expansion of digital payments across the country. The Prime Minister appreciated the efforts of the economic team and the State Bank of Pakistan for transitioning federal and provincial government salary payments, pensions, and vendor payments to the RAAST digital payment system. He commended the Ministry of Finance for facilitating payments amounting to Rs 1.6 trillion through RAAST between July 2025 and January 2026. During the meeting, the Prime Minister lauded the performance of the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) team, noting that under the Ramazan Relief Package, financial assistance has so far been disbursed to 71 percent of eligible beneficiaries. The forum was informed that last year only 24 percent of beneficiaries had received payments by the 12th day of Ramazan, whereas this year, due to timely measures taken on the Prime Minister’s special directives, the distribution has surpassed 71 percent within the same timeframe.
The meeting was further informed that the number of individuals benefiting from digital banking services has exceeded 127 million. The Prime Minister directed all government institutions to provide QR codes on all bills to facilitate ease of payment for citizens and promote digital transactions nationwide. Representatives from the Ministry of Finance, the State Bank of Pakistan, BISP, the Ministry of Information Technology, and other relevant institutions briefed the participants on ongoing initiatives to strengthen the digital payments ecosystem. The meeting also received a detailed briefing on the digital payments dashboard and progress toward achieving set targets. The Prime Minister emphasized the importance of ensuring the timely achievement of all targets related to the digital payments system.
The meeting was attended by Federal Ministers Muhammad Aurangzeb, Ahsan Khan Cheema, Attaullah Tarar, Shaza Fatima Khawaja, Ali Pervaiz Malik; Minister of State Bilal Azhar Kayani; Governor State Bank Jameel Ahmad; provincial Chief Secretaries; and other senior officials.