Askari Bank has launched Pakistan’s first Smart Society App that is transforming the daily lifestyle of residents in Islamabad. Starting with DHA Islamabad, this digital platform will turn residential communities into fully cashless hyperlocal economies with the help of an interactive mobile app interface customised for the residents’ convenience.
This initiative signals a strategic pivot from banking products to an integrated and futuristic lifestyle with nationwide expansion already in the pipeline.
The Smart Society App enables DHA residents to seamlessly manage their daily financial and community interactions through secure digital channels, supporting digital payments for utility bills, school fees, society dues, and retail purchases. It has also built hyperlocal marketplaces where residents and merchants can buy, sell, and transact digitally within their own communities, bringing informal, cash-heavy micro economies into the formal financial system while unlocking new transaction flows and revenue opportunities.
Beyond payments, the platform transforms transactions into a broader community experience by integrating lifestyle and engagement features such as facility bookings, local announcements, and real-time updates, including weather. By embedding financial services directly into everyday activities, Smart Society App positions itself as the default financial interface for residents, where banking is no longer a standalone function but seamlessly woven into the fabric of community interaction and consumption. Extending beyond the app, the cashless ecosystem also includes the deployment of QR codes and POS machines at merchant locations, enabling seamless and convenient digital payments across the community.
“Smart Society App represents a pivotal shift from providing digital products to owning the ecosystem where daily economic activity happens. Creating a synergy between futuristic banking and benefitting common residents is another milestone in the journey of ‘Getting Closer to the Customer’ – our heartfelt motto. We are moving closer to the customer – not just in the branch or on the app but in the community itself,” said Ali Naqvi, Chief Digital Officer, Askari Bank.
Following its pilot in DHA Islamabad, Askari Bank plans to scale the Smart Society App across housing societies nationwide, positioning it as a blueprint for fully digital cashless communities and a cornerstone of the Bank’s long-term digital transformation strategy.
Nothing to be proud of. DHA and Askari Bank are not meant for the ordinary. These organizations belong to a certain government department of Pakistan and are meant for the welfare for their own people.