ISLAMABAD: The government has decided to conduct an independent review and audit of its initiatives on the implementation of a cashless economy, design, impact, and governance mechanisms.
The objective of the process is to assess the progress, efficiency, and effectiveness of the government’s cashless economy initiative.
The government has launched an ambitious national initiative to transition government systems and the broader economy towards a cashless and digitally enabled framework.
Cashless Economy Initiative 2025: Pakistan govt orders independent audit
This strategic shift is anchored in a broader vision to promote transparency, increase financial inclusion, enhance public service delivery, and reduce leakages in government transactions.
Under the initiative, a Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) is to be established to enable shifting from cash payments to digital payments in both the public and the private sector. This entails digitalization of services and enabling digital payments through the RAAST rail. It also involves the development of a data exchange layer and the provision of a single-sign facility to the citizens to enable countrywide accessibility of services through digital applications and digital payments through payment rails.
The cashless economy initiative includes enabling merchants across the country to accept and process digital payments. To this end, various measures are being implemented, including: deployment of QR Codes, reduction in duties on equipment used for payment processing, and lowering transaction fee for digital payments processed over RAAST (subsidizing the cost of acquisition for commercial acquirers).
The initiative also aims to facilitate the expansion of digital infrastructure through measures that include bringing the Right-Of-Way (ROW) charges to zero.
The ROW fee is charged for the grant of right-of-passage to telco firms laying optic fiber through housing societies, roads, railway lines, etc. Under the initiative, and based on directives from the Prime Minister, these charges are being reduced to zero across the country. Federal entities like Pakistan Railways, the National Highway Authority (NHA), and the Capital Development Authority (CDA) have already notified zero ROW charges.
The respective provincial governments are also in the process of notifying a no-charge facility for ROW. The measure is aimed at speeding up the fiberization process and enhancing digital connectivity across the country.
The progress of the cashless economy initiative is being overseen by the Prime Minister himself through periodic meetings. A steering committee has been constituted under the Prime Minister’s directives. Its work has been divided into the following three sub-committees:
i. Sub-committee 1- on Digital Payments Innovation and Adoption(chaired by Governor State Bank of Pakistan)ii. Sub-committee 2- on Development of Digital Public Infrastructure (chaired by the Federal Minister of IT) iii. Sub-committee 3- on Digitization of Government Payments (G2P and P2G)(chaired by Federal Secretary Finance Division).
The respective sub-committees perform their task in line with various output and outcome indicators like: the number of merchants active on digital payments, number of digital banking users, annual number of digital transactions, progress along the Digital Payments Index, percentage of financially included persons, gender gap in access to digital services, internet penetration across the country, number of digitally provided services, and percentage of government to person and person to government payments digitized.
Given the scale, complexity, and national importance of the initiative, the Government of Pakistan is seeking the services of a qualified consultancy firm, selected through an international competitive bidding process, to conduct an independent review and audit of the initiative’s design, implementation, impact, and governance mechanisms.
The firm selected after due process will conduct a comprehensive and independent assessment of the Government’s Cashless Economy initiative.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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