Gates Foundation backs Pakistan's cashless drive, reform push

Mettis Link News reported that the government has briefed the Gates Foundation on progress in digital payments under Pakistan's transformation agenda. Active merchants accepting digital payments grew to 2.03 million from 0.5 million, beating the June 2026 target of 2 million. A Rs3.5 billion government subsidy on Raast QR has helped spur merchant adoption and a shift in behaviour.

A delegation including Dr Anita Zaidi, President of the Gender Equality Division, and Dr Kalpana Kochhar, Interim President of the Global Policy & Advocacy Division, met Bilal Azhar Kayani, Minister of State for Finance and Revenue & Railways, to review the Cashless Pakistan initiative. The minister cited more digital transactions, a growing base of digital banking users and a shrinking gender divide in financial access. The foundation endorsed the progress so far and assured further support through Karandaaz.

Kayani also described the wider reform agenda, including documenting and formalising the economy to support fiscal sustainability. He pointed to the Asaan Tax Scheme for small traders, which seeks to bring them into the formal sector through voluntary sign-ups backed by incentives, not only enforcement. The government has set fresh targets for this fiscal year covering deeper merchant onboarding, digitised government payments and better end-user experience.