Business Desk 
Aug 07, 2025
In a significant step to digitalise Pakistan, the Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s office has directed all federal ministries, provincial governments, and regulators to ensure that every retail outlet in the country displays a Raast QR code by August 31, 2025.
With the digital system, the federal government aims to successfully implement cashless payment across Pakistan.
Notably, this was conveyed by the Prime Minister’s Advisor Syed Tauqeer Ali Shah to all key administrative stakeholders to fully enforce the State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) national digital payment strategy.
The SBP has developed a national implementation strategy to ensure the availability of digital payment acceptance infrastructure, such as Raast QR codes, POS, and Soft POS, at all retail and commercial outlets nationwide.
Prime minister's office has directed all the federal ministries and provincial chief secretaries to take the following actions on priority:
- Display Raast QR codes: All businesses and retail outlets must obtain and display Raast QR codes by August 31, 2025.
- Mandatory digital payment readiness: Businesses must have digital payment readiness (e.g., QR code, POS) for licensing/renewal of commercial operations.
- Compliance mechanism: Establish a system to monitor compliance, including penalties for outlets refusing digital payments.
- Integration with SBP: Partner with SBP and its regulated entities to expand the digital payment acceptance network.
Officials have been encouraged to work closely with the prime minister’s office and the SBP to ensure technical readiness, smooth implementation, and regular progress reporting.
