The Finance Division has directed the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to prepare a working paper seeking approval of a merchant discount rate (MDR) scheme for Raast QR payments, as the government moves to expand digital transactions.
Minister of State for Finance Bilal Azhar Kayani issued the instruction at a meeting of the Cashless Pakistan Committee on Thursday. The meeting followed a review chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif last Friday.
The committee discussed the proposed Raast QR MDR framework and the government’s dashboard for monitoring digital payments. The revised dashboard indicators will track transaction volumes, transaction values and the number of unique account users.
Kayani also asked the SBP to consider adding broader economic indicators, including the ratio of payments processed through the Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) system to gross domestic product.
Under the Cashless Pakistan initiative, the number of active merchants accepting digital payments has risen from 500,000 to 2.03 million, according to the government.
QR codes now appear on more than 45 million gas and electricity bills, and all National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) centres can accept Raast QR payments. The Finance Division said the overall volume of digital payments has doubled over the past year.
From November 16, payments for Asaan Assignment Accounts across the country will be processed through Raast. Drawing and disbursing officers have been trained for the transition.
Kayani plans to meet the presidents and chief executive officers of banks in Karachi to discuss their role in expanding digital payments.
Representatives of the Finance Division, SBP, the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication and Nadra attended the meeting, along with executives from Easypaisa Digital Bank, JazzCash, Bank Alfalah, JS Bank and Karandaaz Pakistan.
