The Honorable Prime Minister of Pakistan, Mr. Imran Khan launched the
second phase of Raast, called
Person-to-Person instant payment system in a ceremony in Islamabad today. Raast,
a flagship initiative of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) is a payment system
platform that enables various types of transactions among different
stakeholders such as organizations, businesses and persons. The objective of
this initiative is to promote digitization and financial inclusion in the
country. In the first phase of Raast, launched in January 2021, transactions
from organizations to persons, generally referred to as Bulk Payments, was
enabled. The second phase is designed to facilitate Person-to- Person (P2P) transactions
under Raast.
The Prime Minister congratulated Governor SBP Dr. Reza Baqir and his team
for the successful completion of the second phase. He was addressing a
gathering of Ministers, Presidents and CEOs of Banks, SBP officials and other
distinguished guests at the Prime Minister House in Islamabad. He appreciated
that the newly launched system will enable ordinary people to execute digital
payments instantly, securely, and conveniently without paying any fee and added
that Raast will open doors of further innovation for the economy and
particularly the financial sector. He expressed his confidence that through
digitization of the economy, the over 220 million population could be converted
into an asset by ensuring their financial inclusion.
Speaking on the occasion, Minister for Finance and Revenue, Mr. Shaukat Tarin appreciated the SBP for the progress made in digitization and expressed his confidence that the forthcoming phases of Raast including payment to merchant will play an important role in facilitating the masses in their financial transaction thus increasing their valuable contribution in the economy.
Governor SBP Dr. Reza Baqir welcomed the Prime Minister on the launch
event and expressed gratitude for his commitment and support to the SBP
initiatives for promoting digitization and financial inclusion in the economy.
Governor Baqir, while highlighting the key features of Raast, explained that
individuals can use this platform in their transactions just like cash and they
will not have to pay any fees or charges for using this payment system. More
importantly, Raast is secure and convenient and free of risks compared to cash.
Raast is easy and simple to use as it allows connecting bank account to user’s
mobile number, called Raast ID. The facility can be used on mobile apps and
internet banking portals of banks. For those people who do not have a mobile
phone or facility of internet banking, Raast P2P service is also available in
bank branches.
To avail Raast, customers should check
SBP’s Raast landing page to see if their bank is already offering
Raast—currently more than 18 banks, processing majority of retail payment
transactions, are offering Raast services —and register one time for Raast in
their bank’s mobile app, through internet banking or by visiting a bank branch.
Remaining banks are expected to be on boarded with Raast in the coming weeks.
Customers may also see the following YouTube video tutorial on registering and
using Raast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRZC0M1d-K0
Dr. Baqir explained that Raast is Pakistan’s first instant payment system established in accordance with the National Payment Systems Strategy, which was prepared by State Bank of Pakistan.
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