Islamabad to stop cash payments for government services after Nov. 30
Street vendors and big markets alike will be offered digital payment options by Dec. 31, as part of the push toward a fully cashless capital.
Government departments in Islamabad will stop accepting cash payments after Nov. 30, Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry said at a high-level meeting, Dunya News reported.
The meeting also announced a decision to make the federal capital the first fully cashless city in Pakistan.
Chaudhry said the Cashless Islamabad project is moving ahead quickly under the instructions of the prime minister and Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi.
He said Naqvi had promised the prime minister that Islamabad would become not only Pakistan's first cashless city but the world's first cashless capital.
Chaudhry said all government transactions in the capital will be carried out through digital channels once the cash restriction takes effect.
He said 26,000 merchants in Islamabad are already connected to digital payment systems, and digital payment facilities will be extended to every level of business by Dec. 31.
From street vendors to large commercial centres, the facilities will be made available to all, Chaudhry said.
Chaudhry said the shift would improve financial transparency, tax monitoring and the overall system of transactions.
Banking sector representatives at the meeting praised the initiative and pledged their full cooperation with the government.
The Capital Development Authority, which is chaired by Suhail Ashraf and attended the meeting, oversees planning and development in the federal capital.
Digital payments have been promoted across Pakistan as part of wider efforts to bring more transactions into the formal financial system.
