Displaying Raast QR codes at retail outlets by August 31 a must

ISLAMABAD: The Prime Minister Office (PMO) has directed Federal Secretaries/ Provincial Chief Secretaries, Heads of Regulatory Bodies to make sure that retail outlets in their jurisdiction obtain and display Raast QR codes by August 31, 2025 aimed at successful implementation of Cashless Economy.

This was conveyed by the Prime Minister’s Advisor Syed Tauqeer Ali Shah, to Kamran Ali Afzal, Secretary, Cabinet Division, Dr Muhammad Fakhre Alam Irfan, Secretary, Power Division, Momin Agha, Secretary, Petroleum and Natural Resources Division, Zahid Akhtar Zaman, Chief Secretary Punjab, Lahore, Asif Hyder Shah, Chief Secretary Sindh, Karachi, Shahab Ali Shah, Chief Secretary Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Peshawar, Shakeel Qadir Khan, Chief Secretary Balochistan, Quetta, Abrar Ahmad Mirza, Chief Secretary, Gilgit-Baltistan, Gilgit, Khushal Khan, Chief Secretary AJK, Muzaffarabad, Masroor Khan, Chairman, OGRA, Islamabad, Waseem Mukhtar, Chairman NEPRA and Ch Muhammad Ali Randhwa, Chief Commissioner, ICT, Islamabad.

In-store and online merchants: SBP advises banks, REs to offer digital payment solutions

According to the Prime Minister’s Advisor the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has developed a national implementation strategy to ensure the availability of digital payment acceptance infrastructure such as Raast QR codes, POS, and Soft POS, at all retail and commercial outlets across the country.

SBP has accordingly requested all Chief Secretaries, regulatory authorities, and other relevant departments to ensure that all the businesses and retail outlets in their jurisdiction accept digital payments.

However, given the cross-cutting nature of this initiative and the need for strong coordination, the Prime Minister’s Office has been requested to lend its support in reinforcing the implementation of these measures.

Prime Minister Office has requested all the Federal Ministries and Provincial Chief Secretaries to take following actions on priority: (i) ensure that all relevant departments and field offices under Ministries administrative control instruct businesses and retail outlets in their jurisdiction obtain and display Raast QR codes by August 31, 2025; (ii) make digital payment readiness (e.g., QR code, POS) a mandatory requirement for licensing/ renewal of commercial operations; (iii) establish a compliance mechanism, including penalties, for outlets refusing to accept digital payments; and (iv) facilitate integration and collaboration with SBP and its regulated entities (banks, MPBS, EMIs) to (banks, MPBs, EMIs) to expand the acceptance network effectively.

To streamline coordination and monitoring, the Prime Minister’s Office has nominated Dr Shazia Ghani, Team Lead (Special Projects & Initiatives), as the focal person for this initiative. Ministries may coordinate with the designated focal and SBP to ensure timely implementation and resolution of operational issues.

Ministry of Finance (MoF) is reportedly developing a cashless payment mechanism for Government to Person (G2P) and Person to Government (P2G) to ensure transparency, efficiency in the State Owned Entities (SOEs).

For the State Bank of Pakistan, the following revised target, as proposed by the Sub-Committee on digital payments innovation and adoption, were approved: (i) active digital commerce payment points include QR codes- 2 million from existing 0.5 million;(ii) active merchant-1 transaction per month;(iii) the number of mobile/ internet app and digital banking users to be increased to 120 million from 95 million during FY 26;(iv) the number of digital transactions will be enhanced by 100 per cent to 15 billion from existing 7.5 billion; and (v) remittances to be credited in bank accounts/ wallets ( no cash payments)-100 per cent digital from existing 80 per cent.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2025