Islamabad to become Pakistan’s first fully cashless city by December 31
A view of Islamabad, which the government aims to make Pakistan's first fully cashless city by December 31. (File photo)
ISLAMABAD: The government has decided to turn the federal capital into the country’s first fully cashless city, setting December 31 as the final deadline for the transition.
The decision was taken at an important meeting on the Cashless Capital project on Friday, chaired by State Minister for Interior Tallal Chaudry. According to a statement issued by the Ministry of Interior, consultation with all stakeholders was described as essential for the project’s success.
No cash after November 30
Chaudry announced that after November 30, no cash payment would be accepted in any department of the Islamabad Capital Territory administration or the Capital Development Authority (CDA). All official transactions would go through digital payment channels. In the second phase, every merchant in Islamabad is to be brought into the cashless system by December 31.
The state minister said 26,000 merchants in the capital had already been connected to the digital payments system. “Digital payment facilities will be provided at every level, from street vendors to major business centres,” he said, adding that the cashless system would improve financial transparency and make tax monitoring easier.
A pledge to make it the world’s first cashless capital
Chaudry said Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi had promised the prime minister that Islamabad would be made not only Pakistan’s first cashless city but the world’s first cashless capital. The meeting was attended by CDA Chairman Sohail Ashraf, representatives of the banking sector and other senior officials, and the banks assured full cooperation for the initiative.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif last week directed the authorities to prepare a “clear roadmap and time-bound targets” for a 100 per cent digital payments system across the country. He was told that the digitisation of payments in federal and provincial government institutions was moving fast, and that payments in “most institutions” would be fully digitised by December 2026.
The first phase of the project had already introduced digital payments at weekly bazaars, the CDA One-Window Facilitation Centre and on metro and electric bus services, while the second phase is extending the Raast QR-code payment system to the city’s major commercial centres.
