In a bid to promote cashless payments, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) is formulating a strategy to simplify digital payment methods for traders.
This was revealed during a weekly meeting on cashless and digital economy held on Thursday, read a statement released by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).
In a briefing to the prime minister, it was stated that the Digital Payments Innovation and Adoption Committee, the Digital Public Infrastructure Committee, and the Government Payments Committee, formed during the previous meeting, have now been constituted.
During the meeting, these committees gave a presentation on their strategies and proposals for digitising the economy.
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“A digital transaction system is essential to bring transparency to the economy,” said PM Shehbaz.
The prime minister was informed that a facilitation package will be introduced to encourage the participation of small businesses in digital transactions.
It was learnt that the government intends to increase the number of mobile app users for digital payments from 95 million to 120 million, raise the number of merchants using QR codes from 0.9 million to 2 million, and expand total digital payments from Rs7.5 billion to Rs12 billion.
It was also shared that the Digital Economy Project under the vision of Digital National Pakistan has been launched.
The Islamabad City mobile app has so far recorded 1.3 million downloads and currently offers 15 services. Through the app, collections under the ICT Excise and Taxation head have reached Rs15.5 billion.
It was told in the briefing that work on the Digital Pakistan ID project is progressing swiftly. Additionally, efforts are underway to provide Wi-Fi internet services throughout Islamabad, especially in hospitals, educational institutions, government offices, parks, and along metro bus lines.
The prime minister ordered that all these facilities be introduced across federal territories, Azad Jammu & Kashmir, and Gilgit-Baltistan as well, read the statement.
