The government has decided to revise the definitions of active digital payment users and merchants and seek tax policy reforms to accelerate Prime Minister’s Cashless Pakistan initiative. The move comes as the number of merchants accepting electronic payments quadrupled during the last fiscal year.
Minister of State for Finance Bilal Azhar Kayani chaired a high-level meeting at the Finance Division to review progress under the initiative and discuss indicators for measuring digital payment adoption. Officials from public institutions, banks, fintech companies and other private sector organisations attended the meeting.
The initiative has recorded progress in expanding digital payment infrastructure and digitising public services. According to the meeting, NADRA has digitised 99% of payments at its service centres nationwide, while passport centres have also been enabled to accept digital payments.
The government has also achieved approximately 75% digital payment acceptance across centralised and self-accounting entities, reflecting growing adoption of electronic transactions within public sector institutions.
Participants reviewed three key indicators: the number of active and unique digital payment users, annual digital transactions and the number of active merchants accepting electronic payments. The committee decided to review the definitions of active app users, unique digital payment users and active merchants to ensure accurate and consistent measurement.
Kayani also asked private sector representatives to prepare recommendations for tax policy reforms that could encourage wider use of digital payments. The proposals will be reviewed as part of efforts to advance the Cashless Pakistan initiative.
The minister said the government aims to improve public convenience, increase transparency and accelerate documentation of the economy through digital payments. He also stressed the importance of reliable, verified and non-duplicated data to track progress accurately.
Representatives from the Finance Division, State Bank of Pakistan, Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication, NADRA and Pakistan Digital Authority attended the meeting. Private sector participants included representatives of the Pakistan Banking Association, Easypaisa Digital Bank, JazzCash, Bank Alfalah, JS Bank and Karandaaz Pakistan.
The minister directed public and private sector stakeholders to strengthen coordination and work together to achieve the initiative’s digital payment targets.