The Government of Pakistan is planning to establish a centralized database of merchants as part of its ongoing efforts to accelerate the country’s transition toward a cashless economy. The initiative is aimed at improving coordination and visibility across the digital payments ecosystem while supporting the wider adoption of electronic payment methods among businesses.
The move comes as Pakistan continues to expand its digital payments infrastructure through initiatives such as Raast and the government’s broader Cashless Pakistan programme. Official figures released in July showed that the number of active merchants accepting digital payments had increased from around 500,000 to more than 2 million, while annual digital transactions rose from 6.9 billion to 11.3 billion.
The centralized merchant database is expected to help address data duplication and gaps in merchant information by creating a more unified view of businesses participating in digital payments. Better merchant-level data could also support financial institutions, payment providers and government agencies in monitoring adoption and identifying areas where digital payment acceptance can be expanded.
The government has set ambitious targets for the broader cashless economy programme, including further growth in digital transactions and merchant acceptance. Earlier targets included increasing annual digital transactions to 15 billion and expanding monthly active Raast QR merchants to 2 million, alongside efforts to digitize government payments.
The planned database forms part of a wider push to document economic activity through digital payments and reduce reliance on cash. The government is working with the State Bank of Pakistan, financial institutions, fintech companies and other stakeholders to expand digital payment adoption, improve transparency and build a more connected payment ecosystem.
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