Pakistan’s digital transformation journey gained momentum through the launch of Raast (an Urdu word meaning straight, direct or correct path; it symbolises a clean, fast, and reliable route for money to move), the country’s first instant payment system (IPS). Raast was developed under the leadership of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF).[1]
Raast is designed to enable interoperability, promote efficiency, and expand financial access, redefining how individuals, businesses, and government entities transact. Beyond enabling real-time payments, Raast has emerged as a key pillar of Pakistan’s digital public infrastructure (DPI), catalyzing digital inclusion and supporting use cases including bulk disbursements, person-to-person (P2P) transfers, and person-to-merchant (P2M) payments.
This article explores Pakistan’s approach to building a robust digital payment infrastructure, the regulatory and institutional mechanisms that underpin its success, and the lessons that emerging markets can draw from this experience. Additionally, it reflects on Raast’s future direction, including cross-border linkages, open-API integration, and merchant adoption, as Pakistan moves toward a fully digital financial ecosystem.
Introduction
The transformation of Pakistan’s payments landscape reflects the public policy achievements in the country’s financial sector over the past decade. In this regard, SBP’s digitalization journey has been going on for quite some time. Key milestones include the introduction of the Branchless Banking Regulations, the implementation of the Real-time Gross Settlement (RTGS) System, the launch of Rules for Payment Systems Operators/Payment Service Providers, the updated National Financial Inclusion Strategy (NFIS), the issuance of the revised Regulations on Electronic Money Institutions (EMI) in 2023, the Framework for Digital Banks, and SBP Vision 2028.
Under the National Payment Systems Strategy (NPSS), launched in 2019 with support from the World Bank, SBP prioritized the modernization of payments infrastructure, the promotion of financial inclusion, and the digitalization of retail and government transactions. The launch of the Raast IPS in 2021 represents a key milestone in realizing …
[1] Now the Gates Foundation.
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