BISP digital wallets: SBP says transaction charges only apply to cash withdrawals

ISLAMABAD: The financial burden of the digital wallets’ interoperability at the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) would be borne by the BISP beneficiaries, Deputy Governor State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Saleem Ullah said on Thursday.

He was briefing the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety that met under the leadership of Mir Ghulam Ali Talpur.

The meeting was convened to review the BISP digital wallet interoperability, its participant banks’ compliance enforcement, beneficiaries’ compensation, and administrative restructuring.

READ MORE: BISP disbursements: NA panel briefed on services, digital wallets

The deputy governor SBP informed the committee that two private microfinance banks will operationalise the interoperability of BISP digital funds respectively by the coming 16 July and 20 July with all six participating banks completing the integration by 31 July.

He said that transaction charges would only apply to cash withdrawals, and that online transfers and RAAST fund transfers would remain free of charge.

The committee was also informed that the complete digitalisation and mandated online functionality of BISP beneficiary accounts was scheduled for 31 December this year.

The deputy governor said the transaction cost would be fixed at Rs280, with a schedule of charges to be notified by the SBP every six months.

The committee expressed concern over what it described as a lack of public awareness regarding the BISP digital wallets, and the contractual deficiencies on the part of BISP in enforcing bank compliance.

The committee asked the BISP management to establish a robust implementation mechanism, and to ensure that banks were providing adequate facilitation for beneficiaries.

Secretary BISP Amer Ali Ahmad informed the NA panel that a district-wise report on banks performance would be submitted to the committee.

Regarding an incident from March this year at a distribution site in Rahim Yar Khan that resulted in fatalities and injuries of multiple BISP beneficiaries due to a roof collapse, the committee was informed that BISP had penalised a private microfinance bank for negligence in this regard.

In this context, the compensation of Rs2 million was disbursed to the families of each deceased individual, along with Rs500,000 for medical treatment of the injured, with the amount being recovered from the bank’s share, the NA panel was informed.

The committee members; Huma Akhtar Chughtai, Makhdoom Tahir Rashid, Ilyas Choudhary, Naima Kanwal and Arshad Abdullah Vohra, as well as senior officials concerned from the Poverty Alleviation Ministry and its attached departments attended the panel’s meeting.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026