Islamabad to become fully cashless city by end of 2026

[vasanthm]

You really think a road side vendor will carry swipe machine for selling 20 Rs worth of vegetables?

I used QR payment in India to buy Rs 10 worth lemon from a street push cart

 

[Goenitz]

stupid move with an immediate deadline .. why should we force that? If so, make large enterprises oblige that..
we have many power and internet outages. So I cannot buy food, meds, or hire a taxi if there is no connectivity due to an internet shutdown, if I'm on the other side of the hill, or if I don't have the capacity to buy/maintain a good phone?

 

[RescueRanger]

You are the very first person on this thread to bring IK and politics to this thread. But somehow @RescueRanger oblivious to it.

Guys please...

 

[RescueRanger]

What does minister of interior got to do with this?

Fully / complete cashless is not possible. And by the way Islamabad already is mostly Debit / Credit card, Easy Paisa and Jazz Cash, not sure why minister of interior is wasting his time on this.

LBDN (Look Busy Do Nothing).

 

[RescueRanger]

A question: What is Pakistan’s specific definition of a “fully cashless city”?
=================================
Electronic payments are now extremely widespread in China; I haven’t used cash for many years.
However, no official body in China would dare to propose a "fully cashless city."
The reason is quite simple: Only when all transactions refuse to accept cash payments can a city truly become a "fully cashless city." However, in China, refusing to accept renminbi cash payments is illegal.

In China, purely cashless transactions are permitted only in a very limited number of specific scenarios, and such arrangements require legal authorization. For all other types of non-cash payments, it is mandatory to provide a cash-based payment option or a conversion mechanism (to transform cash into a non-cash form).

For example:
Cash is not used for subway services; however, all subway stations are required to provide services for topping up transit cards or purchasing tickets using cash.
In our daily lives, many small-scale businesses do not handle cash—effectively, they do not offer cash-based transaction services. Nevertheless, if a merchant refuses to accept Chinese yuan (RMB) in cash when a customer attempts to pay that way, they are acting unlawfully, and one could potentially take legal action against them. Consequently, merchants often use the excuse, "We don't have enough cash on hand to provide change," as a polite way to decline. Yet, if a customer insists on paying with cash, the merchant is legally obligated to accept it.

This tweet is more about how the municipal authority will go cashless.

This is part of a strategy being worked on since 2025 and an improvement on the PAK App.

You can read more about that here:

CDA & MCI go cashless, contactless and paperless

ISLAMABAD - The Capital Development Authority (CDA) and the Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad (MCI) have taken a major step towards the digital

www.nation.com.pk

 

[KingQamaR]

I hope the electric does not go out Islamabad?

 

[ustaad]

I used QR payment in India to buy Rs 10 worth lemon from a street push cart

Good for you but the amount of time and effort is worth muh more than 10 Rs for me.

 

[vasanthm]

Good for you but the amount of time and effort is worth muh more than 10 Rs for me.

It's faster than giving cash and taking change, you just scan the code and confirm.. less than 5 sec

 

[RescueRanger]

I hope the electric does not go out Islamabad?

It's only relevant for PAK App.

 

[Michael]

This tweet is more about how the municipal authority will go cashless.

This is part of a strategy being worked on since 2025 and an improvement on the PAK App.

You can read more about that here:

CDA & MCI go cashless, contactless and paperless

ISLAMABAD - The Capital Development Authority (CDA) and the Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad (MCI) have taken a major step towards the digital

www.nation.com.pk

It is an excellent initiative for the government to have public service agencies provide convenient electronic payment options for the public.

But...

"Fully cashless city" is too big a slogan...

 

[ACE OF HEARTS]

India is far ahead.

You can buy Rs 5 vegetables / fruits with digital payments

India’s Unified Payments Interface Has Revolutionized Its Digital Payments Market

The Unified Payments Interface has transformed digital payments in India, setting a global standard in financial inclusion across sectors.

business.cornell.edu

UPI: A game changer towards achieving a cashless economy

Since the launch of the Unified Payment Interface (UPI), the volume of digital transactions in India has increased exponentially over the last few years. Shamim Ara highlights the trends in the expansion of UPI to make payments both in India, and in other countries through partnerships with...

www.ideasforindia.in

 

[Ali_Baba]

India is far ahead.

You can buy Rs 5 vegetables / fruits with digital payments

India’s Unified Payments Interface Has Revolutionized Its Digital Payments Market

The Unified Payments Interface has transformed digital payments in India, setting a global standard in financial inclusion across sectors.

business.cornell.edu

UPI: A game changer towards achieving a cashless economy

Since the launch of the Unified Payment Interface (UPI), the volume of digital transactions in India has increased exponentially over the last few years. Shamim Ara highlights the trends in the expansion of UPI to make payments both in India, and in other countries through partnerships with...

www.ideasforindia.in

The Chinese are the leaders in digital payments, but India as done well with its Unified Payments Infrastructure. Pakistan has some catching up to do on this front but it is heading in the right direction for certain.