Pakistan Pushes for Domestic Payment System with Mandatory PayPak Cards

Pakistan's State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has proposed mandatory issuance of PayPak cards for government salary accounts and social safety net programmes, aiming to reduce reliance on international payment networks like Visa and Mastercard.

As part of its strategy to strengthen domestic digital payments infrastructure, the SBP recommends making PayPak cards mandatory for beneficiaries of government subsidies, mass transit payment systems, and public sector transactions. 1LINK has proposed tax incentives on Point-of-Sale (PoS) and e-commerce transactions made through PayPak cards, along with cashback offers, discounts, and loyalty rewards.

The central bank highlighted the growth of Raast Person-to-Merchant (P2M) payments, stating that daily P2M transactions increased from approximately 60,000 in June 2025 to around 1.1 million by June 2026 after a Rs. 3.5 billion subsidy programme.

PayPak is Pakistan's first domestic payment card scheme, launched in 2016 under the guidance of the State Bank of Pakistan to provide a locally operated alternative to international card networks and improve financial inclusion.