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Merchants accepting electronic payments grew fourfold last fiscal year under the Prime Minister’s Cashless Pakistan initiative. The government’s next step is less about growth than about counting: it wants to tighten what qualifies as an active user, an active merchant and a unique digital payment user.
Minister of State for Railways and Finance Bilal Azhar Kayani chaired the meeting at the Finance Division. It brought together public officials and private payment companies to review this year’s Cashless Pakistan dashboard and plan the next phase.
Three numbers under review
The discussion centred on three indicators: the number of active and unique users of digital channels, the number of digital transactions in a year, and the number of active merchants accepting digital payments.
Participants questioned whether each indicator is valid and relevant to the initiative. They also weighed different definitions of usage, activity and uniqueness. The committee decided to review and set definitions for active app users, active merchants and unique digital payment users.
| Indicator | Question the committee is addressing |
|---|---|
| Active and unique users of digital channels | What counts as “active”? What makes a user “unique”? |
| Digital transactions per year | Is this a valid measure for Cashless Pakistan? |
| Active merchants accepting digital payments | What level of use qualifies a merchant as active? |
The Minister of State stressed that the dashboard needs accurate, validated and non-duplicated data so progress is measured credibly and transparently.
What the government reports so far
Beyond the fourfold rise in merchants, officials cited progress inside the public sector. NADRA has digitised 99 percent of payments at its service centres nationwide, and passport centres can now accept digital payments.
The government also reports about 75 percent digital payment acceptance across Centralised Entities and Self-Accounting Entities, two categories of government bodies.
The release gives no absolute figures. It does not say how many merchants accept electronic payments, how many users are active or how many transactions took place. The fourfold growth cannot be judged without the starting number.
Tax policy comes next
The Minister of State asked the private sector members of the committee to compile recommendations on enabling Cashless Pakistan through tax policy reforms. These will be reviewed by the government.
No specific taxes were named. The request suggests officials see tax treatment as a factor in whether merchants and consumers move to digital channels, but the release does not say which measures are under consideration.
The Minister of State described the aims as public convenience, transparency and faster documentation of the economy. He also reiterated that the government would work with regulators, financial institutions, fintech firms and the wider private sector on digital payments and financial inclusion.
Attendees came from the Finance Division, State Bank of Pakistan, Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication, NADRA and the Pakistan Digital Authority.
The private sector side included the Chairman of the Pakistan Banking Association, the President of Easypaisa Digital Bank, the Chairman of JazzCash, and the President and CEO of Bank Alfalah. Senior officials of JS Bank, Karandaaz Pakistan and other payments companies also took part.
The Minister of State directed that coordination between public and private stakeholders be strengthened.
Bottom Line
Most digital payment targets fail quietly at the definition stage. If one transaction a year makes a user “active”, the dashboard will look healthy while habits stay unchanged. If duplicate accounts count as separate users, the same person can be counted three times across three apps.
Tighter definitions will probably make the headline numbers smaller and more honest. That is a risk for a government that has just reported a fourfold rise, but it is also the only way later figures will mean anything.
The tax question is the harder one. Digital payments leave a record, and that record is the point of a documentation drive. Merchants who have stayed out of the tax net may see acceptance as a cost, not a convenience. How the private sector’s recommendations address that will show whether the government plans incentives, relief or both.
The next test is publication. If the revised definitions and the absolute numbers behind the fourfold claim appear on the dashboard, readers will be able to check the progress for themselves.
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