ISLAMABAD: The federal government has decided to make Islamabad Pakistan’s first fully cashless city by December 31, and from November 30 no department of the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) administration or the Capital Development Authority (CDA) will accept payments in cash.
The decision was shared at a meeting in Islamabad chaired by Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry, Radio Pakistan reported on Friday. The minister said consultation with stakeholders and their suggestions were important for the success of the “Cashless Islamabad” initiative.
Officials told the meeting that about 26,000 merchants in the capital are already connected to the digital payment system. The target is to bring every merchant in the city into the cashless system by the end of December, with digital payment facilities to be offered at every level, from street vendors and small shops to major business centres.
Background
The push to move Islamabad away from cash has been building for more than a year. The CDA has made QR code-based digital payments mandatory for businesses in stages, extending the system to markets, hotels, restaurants and petrol pumps, and the capital opened its first cashless weekly market late last year. The CDA has also been digitising land records and linking e-stamping to its services as part of the same drive.
The government has repeatedly linked digital payments to wider goals: documenting the economy, widening the tax net and reducing the handling of physical cash. Federal ministers have also been promoting digital payments across the country, and the State Bank’s Raast instant payment system lets account holders move money between banks and mobile wallets in real time.
What This Means for You
If you live or do business in Islamabad and pay CDA or ICT dues, such as property-related fees, licence charges or other official payments, you should plan to pay them digitally from November 30, as cash will no longer be accepted at those counters. That means having a working bank account with a mobile banking app, or a mobile wallet, before the deadline. Shopkeepers and vendors who have not yet registered for QR payments have until December 31 under the government’s target, and getting set up early can avoid losing customers who prefer to pay by phone.
Residents who do not use smartphones may want to ask their bank about debit cards and other options before the cut-off date. The next milestone is November 30, when cash counters at ICT and CDA offices close, followed by the December 31 target for the whole city. Mr Chaudhry has said that the views of traders, residents and other stakeholders are important to making the initiative work.
Sources: Ministry of Interior, Capital Development Authority, Radio Pakistan
Featured image: Photo: Usama Saeed Khattak / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
