Spokesman Report<\/p>\n
KARACHI, April 2:<\/strong>\u00a0 Meezan Bank is stepping up its digital payments strategy, expanding its merchant network and accelerating adoption of instant payment solutions as Pakistan\u2019s shift toward a cashless economy gathers pace, senior bank official said.<\/p>\n The move comes as digital transactions continue to rise sharply across the country. Data from the State Bank of Pakistan shows that around 92% of retail transactions are now conducted through digital channels, reflecting a growing shift away from cash-based payments.<\/p>\n Within this evolving landscape, Meezan Bank has emerged as a key player in merchant acquiring and digital payment enablement.<\/p>\n The bank\u2019s merchant base has crossed 50,000, with average monthly transaction volumes reaching approximately Rs50 billion, according to industry estimates.<\/p>\n Speaking on the development, Ahmed Ali Siddiqui, Group Head Consumer Finance and Digital Banking at Meezan Bank, said the transition toward digital payments is not just a technological shift but an economic necessity.<\/p>\n \u201cThe digital transformation of Pakistan\u2019s financial landscape presents a significant opportunity to improve transparency, strengthen documentation and support inclusive economic growth,\u201d Siddiqui said. \u201cBy enabling merchants to accept digital payments seamlessly, we are helping businesses move from informal cash-based operations into the formal economy.\u201d<\/p>\n Pakistan\u2019s economy continues to face structural challenges linked to its reliance on cash, including a low tax-to-GDP ratio of around 9\u201310% and limited access to formal financing for SMEs, which contribute nearly 40% to GDP but receive less than 10% of bank credit.<\/p>\n Industry experts say digital payments can play a critical role in addressing these gaps by improving financial records, enhancing tax collection and reducing transaction inefficiencies.<\/p>\n Cash handling alone is estimated to cost between 0.5% and 1.5% of GDP, while cash-on-delivery still accounts for a majority of e-commerce transactions.<\/p>\n Meezan Bank has been actively expanding its digital acquiring infrastructure, including point-of-sale (POS) terminals, QR-based payments, and e-commerce payment solutions.<\/p>\n The bank is also integrating with Raast, Pakistan\u2019s instant payment system, to enable faster, low-cost and secure transactions for both merchants and consumers.<\/p>\n As part of its growth strategy, the bank is targeting the onboarding of more than 140,000 additional merchants and expanding Raast acceptance across a network of over 40,000 POS terminals. It has also introduced features such as instant QR code generation and soundbox devices that provide real-time transaction alerts, aimed at improving merchant confidence in digital payments.<\/p>\n Market data indicates strong momentum in Raast-based merchant payments, with transaction volumes growing at an average monthly rate of around 40%, reflecting increasing acceptance among small retailers and micro-businesses.<\/p>\n Siddiqui said continued investment in infrastructure and innovation would be critical to sustaining this growth.<\/p>\n \u201cOur focus is on building a robust digital ecosystem that is accessible, secure and aligned with Shariah principles,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u00a0\u201cThis will not only strengthen our market position but also contribute to Pakistan\u2019s broader goal of a documented and cashless economy.\u201d<\/p>\n Analysts say that as banks expand digital payment capabilities and onboard more merchants, Pakistan could see faster progress toward financial inclusion and economic formalization, particularly among underserved segments.<\/p>\n With transaction volumes rising and institutional support strengthening, the country\u2019s digital payments ecosystem appears poised for continued expansion in the coming years.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Spokesman Report KARACHI, April 2:\u00a0 Meezan Bank is stepping up its digital payments strategy, expanding its merchant network and accelerating adoption of instant payment solutions as Pakistan\u2019s shift toward a cashless economy gathers pace, senior bank official said. The move comes as digital transactions continue to rise sharply across the country. Data from the State […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":61957,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[253],"tags":[552],"class_list":{"0":"post-61956","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business","8":"tag-meezan-bank"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyspokesman.net\/live\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61956","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyspokesman.net\/live\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyspokesman.net\/live\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyspokesman.net\/live\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyspokesman.net\/live\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=61956"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dailyspokesman.net\/live\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61956\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":61958,"href":"https:\/\/dailyspokesman.net\/live\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61956\/revisions\/61958"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyspokesman.net\/live\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/61957"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyspokesman.net\/live\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=61956"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyspokesman.net\/live\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=61956"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyspokesman.net\/live\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=61956"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}