Pakistan’s interbank payment network 1LINK has proposed making PayPak cards mandatory for government employees as part of an effort to expand the country’s domestic digital payment infrastructure.
The proposal, submitted to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), recommends linking all government salary accounts with PayPak cards instead of relying primarily on international payment networks such as Visa and Mastercard.
Proposal extends beyond salary accounts
The recommendations also suggest mandatory issuance of PayPak cards for recipients of government subsidies, social welfare programmes and other public-sector financial assistance.
In addition, 1LINK has proposed integrating PayPak into public transport payment systems and expanding its acceptance at government service centres.
The proposal recommends installing Point-of-Sale (PoS) terminals capable of accepting PayPak payments at major public offices, including NADRA, Passport Offices and Excise departments.
Incentives to encourage adoption
To increase public use of PayPak, the proposal includes tax incentives for PoS and e-commerce transactions conducted through the domestic payment network.
It also recommends cashback offers, discounts and loyalty rewards on utility bills, fuel purchases, public transport fares and government fee payments.
Supporting Pakistan’s digital payment system
The recommendations align with broader efforts to strengthen Pakistan’s local digital payment infrastructure.
The State Bank has continued expanding both PayPak and Raast to increase domestic processing of digital transactions and reduce reliance on international payment networks.
Several initiatives have already been introduced, including co-badged PayPak cards that support both domestic and international transactions, greater acceptance across e-commerce platforms and awareness campaigns promoting digital payments.
The federal government has also allocated Rs3.5 billion for the Raast QR-code subsidy programme during FY2025-26.
According to the proposal, daily Raast Person-to-Merchant (P2M) transactions increased from around 60,000 in June 2025 to approximately 1.1 million by June 2026, reflecting growing adoption of QR-based digital payments across Pakistan.
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Important clarification
At this stage, the recommendations remain proposals submitted to the State Bank of Pakistan. No announcement has been made confirming that mandatory PayPak cards have been approved or implemented.
