The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) is taking a major step towards digitalizing public payments by extending the RAAST payment system to the Accountant Generals in Punjab, Baluchistan, and Gilgit-Baltistan! 🚀
This move comes after the successful deployment of RAAST at the federal level, specifically with Accountant General Pakistan Revenues (AGPR), where the system is already processing payrolls, vendor payments, and more.
🚀 What’s New?
- Provincial Chapters Onboarded: RAAST has now been rolled out to Accountant General Punjab, Accountant General Baluchistan, and Accountant General Gilgit-Baltistan.
- Streamlined Payments: These provincial offices will soon begin processing government payments like payrolls, provident funds, and vendor payments through RAAST.
- More Than Just AGPR: The Central Directorate of National Savings (CDNS) has also joined the system, streamlining coupon payments and encashment services.
📊 Key Stats From FY24:
- AGPR Transactions: 850,000 transactions worth Rs. 100.0 billion processed, representing 90% of AGPR’s total payments.
- CDNS Transactions: 72,000 transactions amounting to Rs. 26.0 billion processed via RAAST.
- Total RAAST Transactions: An impressive 496.1 million transactions worth Rs. 11,558.3 billion were processed last year, compared to 147.2 million transactions worth Rs. 3,074.4 billion in FY23. 🚀
🔥 Upcoming RAAST Deployments
- Benazir Income Support Program (BISP): RAAST will soon handle payment disbursements for BISP, further increasing access to digital payments for low-income households.
- Federal Board of Revenue (FBR): Plans are in place to onboard FBR for duty drawback payments.
- Controller Naval Accounts: Salaries and pensions for naval personnel will also be processed via RAAST.
💡 RAAST P2P and P2M Use Cases: A Game-Changer for Digital Payments
The RAAST person-to-person (P2P) system allows individuals to transfer funds free of cost using mobile banking apps or internet banking portals through IBAN or RAAST ID. 🏦
Now, the RAAST person-to-merchant (P2M) service has also been launched to facilitate digital payment acceptance for merchants and businesses using:
- QR Codes
- RAAST Alias
- IBAN
- Request to Pay (RTP)
This feature is set to accelerate the digitization of merchant and business transactions in Pakistan! 💳
