Payments/PK
Pakistan
ISO PK · 3 schemes
Summary
- Raast is the national instant payment system (SBP)
- PKR 44 trillion in 1.9 billion transactions processed
- Raast P2M QR launched December 2023
- PKR 3.5 billion subsidy for merchant QR adoption (2025-2026)
- All merchants required digital payment by October 31, 2025
Banking landscape
Central Bank
- Name: State Bank of Pakistan (SBP)
- Website: https://www.sbp.org.pk/
- Role: Monetary policy, Raast oversight
Major Banks (2024)
| Rank | Bank Name | Type | Digital Platform |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Habib Bank Limited | Private | HBL Mobile |
| 2 | National Bank of Pakistan | State | NBP Digital |
| 3 | United Bank Limited | Private | UBL Digital |
| 4 | MCB Bank | Private | MCB Mobile |
| 5 | Allied Bank | Private | myABL |
Market Structure
- State banks: NBP, Bank of Punjab
- Private leaders: HBL, UBL, MCB, Allied
- Raast Payments Pakistan: SBP subsidiary (2024-25)
- Digital wallets: JazzCash, Easypaisa, NayaPay
Raast Payments Pakistan (Pvt) Ltd
- Established FY 2024-25
- Wholly owned SBP subsidiary
- Manages instant payment platform
- Ensures operational agility
Payment infrastructure
National Payment Systems
| System | Operator | Type | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Raast | SBP/Raast Payments | Instant payment | Active |
| PRISM+ | SBP | Real-time settlement | Active |
| 1LINK | 1LINK (Pvt) Ltd | ATM/Switch | Active |
| PayPak | 1LINK | Local card scheme | Active |
Raast Statistics
- 1.9 billion transactions
- PKR 44 trillion processed
- First trillion: 360 days
- Now: 1 trillion every 9 days
Raast Components
| Service | Description | Launch |
|---|---|---|
| P2P | Person-to-person | 2021 |
| Bulk | Government/business | 2021 |
| P2M | Person-to-merchant QR | Dec 2023 |
QR code standards
Raast P2M QR
| Attribute | Value |
|---|---|
| Launch | December 2023 |
| Operator | SBP |
| Channels | QR Code, Raast Alias, IBAN, RTP |
| Banks Live | 25 banks (May 2024) |
Raast QR Features
- Instant digital payments
- Multiple payment channels
- Request to Pay (RTP)
- Raast Alias addressing
- IBAN-based QR
Government Subsidy Program (2025-2026)
- PKR 3.5 billion in subsidies
- September 2025 to June 2026
- Three-year program
- Merchant adoption incentive
Merchant Mandate (October 2025)
- All existing merchants by October 31, 2025
- Must adopt digital payment solution
- Raast QR code
- POS systems
- E-commerce gateways
Mobile payment apps
| App | Provider | Raast | QR | Users |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| JazzCash | Jazz | Yes | Yes | 40M+ |
| Easypaisa | Telenor | Yes | Yes | 30M+ |
| NayaPay | NayaPay | Yes | Yes | Growing |
| Bank Apps | Various | Yes | Yes | Widespread |
JazzCash
- Largest mobile wallet
- Raast integrated
- QR payments
- P2P transfers
Easypaisa
- Second largest wallet
- Raast connectivity
- Merchant payments
- Bill payments
NayaPay Cross-Border (2024)
- Integrated with Alipay
- QR-based payments in China
- Cross-border interoperability
Schemes
| Scheme | Type | Symbology | Adoption | Technical standard |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Raast P2M QR | Payment QR | SBP | 25 banks | raast-p2m-qr |
| Raast P2P | Instant transfer | SBP | Universal | — |
| PayPak | Card scheme | Local | Growing | — |
Sources
- SBP - Raast Overview
- SBP - Raast P2M
- Profit - Raast P2M Launch
- PK Revenue - Raast P2M
- INP - SBP Digital Finance 2024-25
- Tribune - Raast P2M
- TechJuice - Raast PayPak Expansion
- Profit - Government Raast by FY26
- Profit - Merchant Digital Mandate
- TechX - Raast P2M
Full country report
Schemes
Standards
Mentioned · 1