Pakistan’s RAAST System Aims to Power Government Payment Transfers
The Real-time Automated and Secure Transfer system, known as RAAST, is still being developed to fully support person-to-government (P2G) and government-to-person (G2P) payments in Pakistan. According to the latest World Bank report, once this system is ready, government platforms will need to connect and integrate with RAAST to carry out these digital payment transfers effectively.
This integration could bring major benefits for the government. It would make payment processes more efficient and reduce operational costs. For governments that have already started moving towards digital payment systems, RAAST can help improve their services. At the same time, it could offer a good starting point for those who haven’t yet digitalised their payment processes. The move towards digital payments not only improves service delivery but also helps build trust and convenience for users.
Pakistan’s RAAST System Aims to Power Government Payment Transfers
One of the biggest advantages of digitising government payments is the boost it gives to financial inclusion. When people can easily receive or send money digitally, it encourages them to join the formal financial system. However, financial inclusion in Pakistan remains a big challenge. Many people still do not have access to basic banking services. The country has the lowest rate of account ownership in the region. There are also large differences in access to financial services between the rich and the poor, and between men and women.
While the number of people using mobile money and opening bank accounts is increasing, the gap is still wide. Out of Pakistan’s adult population, 114 million people remain unbanked. Only 18 per cent of adults have ever made or received a digital payment. Women and low-income groups are especially behind when it comes to owning bank accounts or using digital financial tools.
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The World Bank report also highlighted issues related to data sharing in the country. Progress in this area has been slow. There are few laws, policies, or systems in place that allow for secure and efficient data exchange between government departments or sectors. Although NADRA’s CNIC is widely used as a common identifier across public databases, there is still no strong system in place to verify and share data across departments.
To fix this, Pakistan needs to develop better frameworks that allow systems to talk to each other safely and efficiently. This includes creating tools like government service buses and API gateways to enable smooth and secure data sharing. Data should be able to flow not only across different service providers (horizontally) but also between local, provincial, and federal levels of government (vertically).
Lastly, data governance is not uniform across the country. Provinces are working at different speeds and often without coordination. This highlights the need for shared infrastructure and stronger institutional support to ensure secure and efficient data sharing nationwide.
