Karachi, September 24, 2025 – The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Wednesday unveiled a Rs3.5 billion subsidy scheme to promote Raast Person-to-Merchant (P2M) QR payments across the country.
This initiative aligns with the Prime Minister’s Cashless Economy vision, aiming to encourage wider adoption of digital payments by merchants and consumers alike.
Under the program, the government has allocated the subsidy for SBP Regulated Entities (REs) to support onboarding merchants on Raast, enabling them to receive secure digital payments through Raast QR Codes. The subsidy will cover transactions carried out between September 1, 2025, and June 30, 2026, and will be calculated at 0.5% of each Raast P2M QR transaction value, or Rs100, whichever is lower. The subsidy will be equally shared between the merchant’s financial institution and the customer’s financial institution, while REs may also charge up to 0.25% for onboarding and servicing merchants.
Subsidy payments will be disbursed quarterly to REs. If total subsidies exceed the annual ceiling of Rs3.5 billion, the rate will be adjusted to ensure equitable distribution among all REs. All SBP-regulated institutions participating in the Raast P2M scheme are required to maintain accurate records for audit and verification purposes.
This subsidy is expected to significantly boost Raast payments adoption, making digital transactions easier, faster, and more accessible for both merchants and customers across Pakistan.