{"id":5939,"date":"2025-09-25T10:21:17","date_gmt":"2025-09-25T05:21:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pkfin.kotenterprises.dev\/?p=5939"},"modified":"2025-09-25T10:21:17","modified_gmt":"2025-09-25T05:21:17","slug":"govt-approves-rs-3-5-billion-subsidy-to-boost-raast-qr-payments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pkfin.kotenterprises.dev\/?p=5939","title":{"rendered":"Govt Approves Rs. 3.5 Billion Subsidy to Boost Raast QR Payments"},"content":{"rendered":"

Islamabad \u2014 In a major step toward accelerating Pakistan\u2019s transition to a cashless economy, the federal government has approved a Rs. 3.5 billion subsidy to promote merchant onboarding on the Raast platform and encourage wider adoption of digital payments through QR codes.<\/p>\n

The State Bank of Pakistan<\/a> (SBP) announced that the incentive will support Person-to-Merchant (P2M) transactions carried out between September 1, 2025, and June 30, 2026<\/strong>. Under the scheme, financial institutions will receive support at a rate of 0.5% of each transaction\u2019s value or Rs. 100, whichever is lower<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The initiative is part of the Prime Minister\u2019s Cashless Economy Program<\/strong> and aims to make digital payments more accessible and attractive for merchants. The subsidy will be shared equally between the merchant\u2019s acquiring bank and the customer\u2019s issuing bank<\/strong>, ensuring benefits for both sides of the transaction.<\/p>\n

In addition to the subsidy, regulated entities may charge up to 0.25% of the transaction value<\/strong> for merchant onboarding and servicing. Payments to financial institutions will be released on a quarterly basis. If the total subsidy demand exceeds the annual allocation of Rs. 3.5 billion, the support rate will be adjusted to remain within the budget ceiling.<\/p>\n

The SBP has directed all regulated entities \u2014 including banks, microfinance banks, electronic money institutions, payment system operators, payment service providers, merchant service providers, and customer service providers \u2014 to strictly follow the prescribed process. Only successful transactions recorded in the Raast system will qualify for the subsidy, with institutions required to maintain comprehensive records for audit and verification.<\/p>\n

Quarterly subsidy claims must be submitted to Raast Payments Pakistan<\/strong> within five working days of the quarter\u2019s close, verified by internal audit departments. Raast Payments Pakistan will cross-check claims against its own data, with discrepancies communicated to the respective institution within five working days. Institutions must reconcile and resubmit claims within another five working days, failing which the initially calculated amount will be considered final.<\/p>\n

The SBP also noted that its inspection teams may verify claims during regular on-site reviews. The subsidy claim for September 2025 will be disbursed along with those for the quarter ending December 31, 2025<\/strong>, subject to the Finance Division\u2019s approval and release of funds.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Islamabad — In a major step toward accelerating Pakistan’s transition to a cashless economy, the federal government has approved a Rs. 3.5 billion subsidy to promote merchant onboarding on the Raast platform and encourage wider adoption of digital payments through QR codes. The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) announced that the incentive will support Person-to-Merchant […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5770,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"_FSMCFIC_featured_image_caption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_nocaption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_hide":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post","format-standard"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t