Raast transactions reach Rs20tr

KARACHI: Pakistan’s instant payment system, Raast, has processed 892 million transactions totalling Rs20 trillion in just 16 days, paving the way for the growing adoption of digital payments in the country.

“Raast has processed 892 million transactions amounting to Rs20 trillion. The most recent trillion was achieved in just 16 days,” the State Bank of Pakistan said late Thursday.“This reflects the SBP’s commitment to making digital payments easier and accessible for all,” it added.

According to the annual payments review for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2024, released by the SBP last week, 496.1 million transactions worth Rs11.558 trillion were handled through Raast during FY24. Last year in FY23, the number of transactions stood at 147.2 million with a value of Rs3.074 trillion.

The Raast person-to-person (P2P) use case offers a free facility for fund transfers between individuals. Users can transfer funds using their mobile banking app or internet banking portal using IBAN or Raast ID, according to the report.

In its drive to digitalise the economy, the SBP has been onboarding various private- and public-sector entities on the Raast platform. Further, the SBP has now launched an interoperable Raast P2M service to facilitate digital payment acceptance for merchants and businesses.

“The P2M service will enable payment acceptance by businesses using Quick Response (QR) Codes, Raast Alias, IBAN, and Request to Pay (RTP). The Raast P2M service is set to accelerate the pace of digitization of merchant and business transactions in Pakistan,” the report added.

In the initial stages of Raast Bulk Payments, the Accountant General Pakistan Revenues (AGPR) was deployed on Raast to process their payrolls, vendor payments, general provident funds, and advances-related payments.

During FY24, AGPR processed a total of 850,000 transactions amounting to Rs100 billion (the biggest bulk payment processor), accounting for more than 90 per cent of total AGPR payments.

Further, the Central Directorate of National Savings (CDNS) has also been on-boarded for processing coupon payments and encashment services through Raast. During the same period, 72,000 transactions amounting to Rs26 billion were processed by the CDNS, accounting for approximately 10 per cent of total payments. The Raast team is now in the process of onboarding provincial chapters of AGPR.

“The process of onboarding the accountant general Gilgit-Baltistan, accountant general Punjab, and accountant general Balochistan on Raast has been completed, and the payment processing is expected to start in the future,” the report said.

“The payment disbursements under the Benazir Income Support Programme to be processed via Raast are also under consideration,” it added.“Projects of onboarding the FBR [Federal Board of Revenue] for duty drawback and controller naval accounts for salary and pension disbursements are also in the pipeline.”