1LINK has proposed making PayPak cards mandatory for government employees’ salary accounts, subsidy programmes and other public sector payments as part of a plan to reduce Pakistan’s reliance on international payment networks such as Visa and Mastercard.
The proposals, shared by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), recommend mandatory issuance of PayPak cards for government salary accounts as well as beneficiaries of social safety net programmes, government subsidies and mass transit payment systems.
To accelerate adoption of the domestic payment scheme, 1LINK has also proposed tax incentives on Point-of-Sale (PoS) and e-commerce transactions made through PayPak cards, along with cashback offers, discounts and loyalty rewards on utility bill payments, fuel purchases, public transport and other government-related transactions.
The company further suggested that all public-facing government service centres, including NADRA offices, passport offices and excise departments, install PoS terminals capable of accepting PayPak cards.
The proposals are part of the State Bank’s broader strategy to strengthen Pakistan’s domestic digital payments infrastructure by increasing transactions routed through PayPak and Raast, reducing dependence on international payment schemes.
According to the SBP, recent initiatives include the introduction of co-badged PayPak cards that support both domestic and international transactions, expansion of PayPak acceptance for e-commerce, promotional campaigns and incentives to improve merchant acceptance and transaction volumes.
The central bank also highlighted the rapid growth of Raast Person-to-Merchant (P2M) payments. It said the government allocated Rs. 3.5 billion for a Raast QR-code subsidy programme in FY2025-26, helping daily P2M transactions increase from around 60,000 in June 2025 to approximately 1.1 million by June 2026.
PayPak is Pakistan’s first domestic payment card scheme, launched by 1LINK in 2016 under the guidance of the State Bank of Pakistan. The system was developed to provide a locally operated alternative to international card networks, lower transaction costs, improve financial inclusion and strengthen the country’s digital payment infrastructure.
In recent years, the SBP has expanded the ecosystem through co-badged PayPak cards and closer integration with Raast as part of its national digital payments strategy.
The post Pakistan Moves to Cut Reliance on Visa and Mastercard appeared first on ProPakistani.