Government Orders Independent Audit of Cashless Economy Initiative 2025

The government has decided to bring in outside experts to carry out an independent audit of its Cashless Economy Initiative 2025, a program that aims to push Pakistan toward a more digital, less cash-dependent future.

The initiative was rolled out earlier this year with big promises: make government transactions more transparent, expand the tax net, cut leakages, and encourage more people to use digital financial services. Officials say the program could transform how money moves in Pakistan.

Cashless Economy Initiative 2025: Steering the Transition

In June, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif set up a high-level committee to keep the program on track. The group meets every week to review progress and iron out bottlenecks. To help carry the work forward, three specialized committees were also formed, one focusing on payment innovation, another on digital infrastructure, and a third on government-related payments.

Part of the plan is to digitize government-to-person payments, such as stipends and pensions, and make it easier for citizens to pay the state electronically. Retailers are also being nudged to adopt digital systems, while the government invests in the backbone infrastructure to handle higher transaction volumes.

Call for Independent Oversight

Recognizing the initiative’s national importance, the government is now seeking the services of an international consultancy firm to conduct a thorough audit. The firm will be selected through a competitive bidding process and will be required to review every aspect of the project’s design, implementation, impact, and governance mechanisms.

The assignment will include:

• Reviewing compliance with policy directives issued under the program.

• Evaluating whether the initiative’s goals are achievable under Pakistan’s current policy, regulatory, and technological environment.

• Assessing institutional coordination and resource allocation.

• Measuring progress against quantitative targets such as the number of digital users, transaction volumes, merchant participation, and geographic coverage.

• Analyzing adoption trends in Raast, QR-based payments, digital wallets, and other emerging platforms

The Bigger Picture

Pakistan’s journey toward a cashless economy is still at an early stage. While platforms like Raast have gained traction and mobile wallets are more common, most daily transactions are still cash-based. Financial literacy gaps, limited infrastructure, and uneven adoption remain serious hurdles.

That is why the government sees the independent audit as a way to inject credibility and get a clearer sense of where things stand.

“If this review is done properly, it can help us build trust and show people that this transition isn’t just a slogan but a workable, long-term shift,” said an economist familiar with the initiative.

For millions of Pakistanis, a move toward reliable digital payments could mean faster services, safer transactions, and access to financial tools they’ve never had before. For the government, it could mean better tax compliance and stronger oversight of spending.

Whether the Cashless Economy Initiative delivers on those promises, however, now depends in part on what the auditors find.

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