State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has continued to explore various options under RAAST payment systems as it is also in discussion with several other government organizations including the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and Benazir Income Support Program (BISP) for integrations in order to process their bulk payments through RAAST.
According to the SBP’s Annual Payment System Revenue, RAAST has successfully processed more than 208 million transactions of Rs. 4.3 trillion since its inception.
The upcoming P2G or G2P system under RAAST will further boost the ecosystem of the country’s digital system further. This will effectively allow taxpayers to make their tax payments easily, on the other hand, the beneficiaries of the government’s assistance scheme will also be benefited.
A study titled “Realizing the promise of responsible digital payments for merchants in Pakistan,” prepared by “Better Than Cash Alliance” has suggested that Pakistan can boost digital inclusion and supply for digital liquidity by digitizing Government-to-Person (G2P) and Person-to Government (P2G) payments.
Recently, the central bank launched the RAAST Person-to-Merchant (P2M) system to enable individuals to make electronic payments to merchants through alternate channels e.g., QR codes, Aliases, IBAN, Request to Pay (RTP), a mechanism whereby payees can initiate a request for payment to the payer.
The RAAST also facilitated the disbursement of government salaries, GP funds, and pension payments of Account General Pakistan Revenues (AGPR). The long queues that once were a common sight at AGPR offices are now a thing of the past.
