PM Sharif Praises Economic Team for Major Progress Toward Pakistan's Cashless Economy
Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday (July 14) chaired a high-level meeting to review progress on the government's cashless economy initiative, where he lauded the economic team for achieving key milestones in expanding digital payments across the country.
The Prime Minister said that shifting Pakistan's economy toward a cashless system would strengthen transparency, improve economic efficiency, and support long-term sustainable growth.
He particularly appreciated the 300 percent increase in the number of active merchants using QR codes for digital payments over the past year and directed the relevant authorities to further strengthen awareness campaigns encouraging businesses to adopt digital payment solutions.
The Prime Minister also described the increase in mobile banking app users—from 95 million to 137 million within a year—as a major achievement. He urged banks and financial institutions to play a more proactive role in accelerating the country's transition to a cashless economy.
He further instructed that overseas remittances should be made 100 percent digital to improve efficiency and convenience. The Prime Minister also praised the digitization of payments under the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP), describing the new digital wallet-based system as transparent, faster, and more convenient for beneficiaries.
During the meeting, officials briefed the Prime Minister on the progress made under the cashless economy initiative. They informed him that the number of merchants receiving digital payments had increased by 300 percent to over 2.003 million between June 2025 and June 2026.
The meeting was told that 99 percent of NADRA's payments have now been digitized, while cash transactions have declined from 71 percent to just 1 percent.
Officials further informed the meeting that all payments to BISP's 10 million beneficiaries are now being made through digital wallets. Mobile banking app users currently stand at 137 million, while 11.9 billion digital transactions were recorded between July 2025 and June 2026.
The briefing also highlighted that 92 percent of overseas remittances received during the past year were transferred through digital channels.
Officials informed the Prime Minister that an independent third-party validation of the cashless economy initiative is currently underway, with the final report and recommendations expected in November 2026.
The meeting was also informed that the Pakistan Banks Association has assigned digital payment targets to its member banks, including the promotion of the RAAST instant payment system.
The meeting was attended by Ahsan Khan Cheema, Muhammad Aurangzeb, Attaullah Tarar, Shaza Fatima Khawaja, Ali Pervaiz Malik, Minister of State for Finance Bilal Azhar Kayani, State Bank Governor Jameel Ahmad, the Chairman of NADRA, and senior officials from relevant institutions.