ISLAMABAD, September 10, 2026: A senior delegation from the Gates Foundation has reaffirmed its support for Pakistan’s Cashless Pakistan initiative and broader economic reform agenda during a meeting with Minister of State for Finance and Revenue Bilal Azhar Kayani.
The delegation, led by Dr Anita Zaidi, President of the Gender Equality Division, and Dr Kalpana Kochhar, Interim President of the Global Policy & Advocacy Division, reviewed progress on Pakistan’s digital transformation and financial inclusion efforts.
Digital payments expand under Cashless Pakistan
During the meeting, Kayani briefed the delegation on progress under the Cashless Pakistan initiative, which was launched under the direct supervision of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
The minister said the number of active merchants accepting digital payments had increased from around 500,000 to 2.03 million, surpassing the government’s June 2026 target of 2 million merchants.
He attributed the expansion in part to a Rs3.5 billion government subsidy for Raast QR, which has supported merchant adoption and encouraged greater use of digital payment services.
Kayani also highlighted growth in digital transactions and digital banking users, along with improvements in financial inclusion. He said the gender gap in access to financial services was also narrowing as digital financial services expanded.
The government, he added, remains focused on increasing transparency and efficiency in public payments through greater digitisation.
The Gates Foundation delegation acknowledged the progress made in digitising Pakistan’s economy and reaffirmed its continued support through Karandaaz.
Focus on formalising the economy
The meeting also covered Pakistan’s wider economic reform agenda, including efforts to document and formalise economic activity to strengthen fiscal sustainability.
Kayani highlighted the recently introduced Asaan Tax Scheme for small traders, which seeks to encourage voluntary registration and bring more businesses into the formal economy through incentives.
The minister said the government has set ambitious targets for the current fiscal year to further expand the Cashless Pakistan programme. These include increasing merchant onboarding, digitising government payments and improving the user experience for digital transactions.
Kayani welcomed the Gates Foundation’s continued partnership through Karandaaz and expressed support for exploring a broader strategic partnership framework covering the development agenda