ISLAMABAD (MNN); Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday said that Raast, Pakistan’s national instant payment system, is playing a vital role in expanding financial inclusion and speeding up the transition towards a cashless economy.
Chairing a meeting with members of the Raast Board at the Prime Minister’s House, the prime minister stressed the need to intensify efforts to encourage businesses to adopt Raast for routine financial transactions.
He congratulated the newly appointed board members and expressed confidence that their expertise would further enhance the performance and outreach of the digital payment system.
During the briefing, the board informed the prime minister that more than three billion transactions amounting to nearly Rs80 trillion have been processed through Raast so far. They added that the platform now has over 48 million users, while 53 financial institutions have been integrated as partners.
Officials explained that Raast operates under the State Bank of Pakistan, with all but one of its board members coming from the private sector based on professional merit.
The prime minister was also briefed that efforts are underway to shift all business-to-government and government-to-business payments across the country to the Raast platform.
“Raast offers every citizen a secure, efficient and reliable digital payment system,” officials said.
The meeting was attended by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar, Economic Affairs Minister Ahad Khan Cheema, IT Minister Shaza Fatima Khawaja, Minister of State for Finance Bilal Azhar Kayani, the SBP governor, Raast board members, the CEO and senior officials.
