EDITORIAL: The incumbent government is focused on digitisation in areas of engagement with the general public — which began with the use of ATM cards by the beneficiaries of the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP), and more recently by a proactive drive towards digitisation by the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), and yet to be implemented recent decision by the cabinet to print QR codes on all utility bills (electricity, gas, and telephone). The objective of such an exercise is salutary: to ensure all payments to BISP beneficiaries are effectively disbursed and all dues to the government are effectively collected.
Reports suggest that many BISP beneficiaries, who are not literate and unable to withdraw the cash themselves, are forced to rely on others to withdraw their quarterly payments. Many who assist beneficiaries charge a flat fee for the withdrawal, while there are some who are unscrupulous and defraud a beneficiary of a sizeable portion of the money. And while some do register a complaint in the FIA yet the amount involved is so small from the FIA’s perspective that investigation, if any, is perfunctory.
State Bank and FBR have jointly introduced online collection of taxes and duties which, as per the Bank’s website, is “aimed at improving payments system especially in the context of revenue collection besides facilitating taxpayers and minimising incidence of leakages” as “empirical studies show a strong correlation between electronic tax collection and revenue growth.” This again presupposes that a small or even a medium-sized business would have the necessary manpower — “computer literacy” — to pay online without incurring any extra cost — a supposition that may not be accurate and may actually push many a prospective taxpayer to opt to operate purely on cash — a trend that is fairly widespread in this country. However, the SBP does note that “digital risks emanating from the system need to be addressed carefully. Cybersecurity and privacy issues should be prudently tackled for developing taxpayers’ trust and making digitisation more progressive.”
With respect to QR codes, there is a legitimate concern that QR codes may actually allow the fraudsters to pay off part or whole of someone else’s utility bill. In the UK, QR codes are increasingly found in electricity bills that provide tariff details, consumption and other relevant information that may potentially facilitate payment. However, what is relevant to note is that QR codes in use in the UK have features like advanced encryption and string customer authentication that assists in protecting financial information.
While the recent thrust by the government towards a cashless economy is supported as its objective is to streamline payment/dues and to ensure fewer delinquents, yet Pakistan has not achieved any degree of cyber security that is critical before this objective can be met. One would hope that the government focuses attention on education; so far the provincial outlays on education have been small and more than offset by budgeting large amounts on physical infrastructure that, disturbingly, is increasingly requiring massive annual maintenance due to the floods as Pakistan remains one of the most climate-stressed countries in the world.
To conclude, a holistic approach would entail starting with higher education outlays, at least 6 percent of total expenditure, which would provide the public with the know-how to use the digital platforms effectively and guard themselves against the ever-present likelihood of fraud in this country.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025