1LINK has announced a strategic partnership with the Punjab Water and Sanitation Agency to digitize bill collections across the province of Punjab through its 1BILL platform, marking a significant step toward modernizing payment infrastructure and supporting the vision of a cashless province. The collaboration is aimed at improving operational efficiency, streamlining billing processes, and offering customers secure, real-time digital payment options.
The signing ceremony brought together senior representatives from both organizations and the settlement banking partner. Mr. Tayyab Farid, Director General of PWASA, represented the provincial agency, while Mr. Bashir Khan, Chief Commercial Officer of 1LINK, signed on behalf of the digital payment platform. The event was also attended by Ms. Samreen Ashraf, Director of GIS & IT at PWASA, Mr. Ahsan Hayat, Deputy Director IT of WASA Lahore, and Mr. Kashif Abbas Naqvi, Vice President at Allied Bank, which will act as the settlement banking partner for the initiative.
Under the partnership, customers of PWASA across all 36 districts of Punjab will now be able to make utility payments seamlessly via the 1BILL platform. This integration allows multiple digital channels to process transactions in real time, ensuring both convenience for end-users and greater operational transparency for the agency. By leveraging digital infrastructure, PWASA aims to reduce reliance on manual payment methods and paper-based collection, which historically have slowed processing times and created reconciliation challenges.
The initiative also aligns with the broader provincial agenda of digital innovation promoted by the Chief Minister of Punjab, which seeks to create a more efficient, cashless ecosystem across government services. By integrating utility payments into a unified digital platform, PWASA and 1LINK are setting the stage for broader adoption of electronic financial services, while promoting financial inclusion and operational accountability.
For 1LINK, this partnership reinforces its role as a leading fintech enabler in Pakistan, connecting public sector agencies with banks and payment service providers through the 1BILL platform. The platform has been designed to offer secure, scalable, and interoperable payment processing, making it easier for government institutions to manage collections and for citizens to transact conveniently.
Allied Bank’s participation as the settlement banking partner ensures that funds are transferred accurately and efficiently, providing a secure financial backbone to the digitized billing process. Settlement banking is a critical component in enabling trust and reliability in digital payment systems, particularly for high-volume utility collections.
This collaboration is expected to set a benchmark for digital payment adoption within Pakistan’s public utilities sector, demonstrating how government agencies can leverage fintech solutions to modernize operations, improve customer experience, and reduce administrative overhead. By enabling cashless and real-time payments across the province, PWASA and 1LINK are contributing to a more transparent and efficient public service ecosystem.
The partnership underscores the growing role of fintech platforms in supporting government-led digital initiatives, where technology not only facilitates faster transactions but also strengthens financial reporting, accountability, and service delivery at scale. As digital payments continue to expand in Pakistan, collaborations like this are likely to accelerate adoption across other provincial and federal agencies, creating a more integrated and efficient financial ecosystem.
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