Pakistan to link with Buna for digital payments from Gulf

Pakistan will link Roshan Digital Accounts (RDAs) of its nationals in Gulf countries with Buna, an Arab payment system, to allow direct fund transfers from the Middle East, where most of its diaspora is based, officials said during a parliamentary briefing on Thursday.

“The digital payment infrastructure will be the first of its kind in the region,” said the junior minister for finance, Bilal Azhar Kayani, during a meeting of the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Finance.

The meeting, chaired by MNA Naveed Qamar, was briefed by officials from the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on the country’s evolving digital payment ecosystem.

SBP Governor Jameel Ahmad stated that overseas Pakistanis will only be able to send money through the Buna system, but not receive remittances through it. “The remittance flow will be one-way for now,” he said.

Ahmad also briefed the committee on the government’s action to promote digital payments.

He said merchants will be exempted from digital payment fees. The government will bear the cost of this exemption to encourage digital transactions. “No 0.5% fee will be deducted from merchants for digital transactions,” Ahmad added.

Five licenses have already been issued for digital payment services, including to platforms like Easypaisa, JazzCash, and Mashreq Bank, Ahmad noted.

The committee, however, expressed concerns over consumer protection in digital transactions, which remains a concern.

Governor Ahmad stated that banks will not be liable for consumer errors in digital transactions. In cases of technical errors or fraud committed by the payment channel, the responsible channel will be required to provide compensation.

The Finance Committee recommended a consumer protection fund for the digital payment ecosystem.

SBP Deputy Governor Saleem Ullah said Pakistan currently has 95 million banking app users and 226 million bank accounts, of which 96 million are unique. There are also 19,000 bank branches, 20,000 ATMs, 9,500 merchants, and 850,000 QR-code-enabled merchants across the country.

He said consumers will not be charged for cashless transactions, and USSD channels will allow offline transactions without internet access, Saleem Ullah said.

Cashless govt transactions

He said Pakistan aims to provide digital financial services to 75% of its youth population by 2028. He also announced that the federal and provincial governments will introduce a cashless economy by June 2026.

Meanwhile, Kayani told the committee the government is also working on legislation to enable the transition to a cashless economy.

The federal finance secretary and other officials outlined plans to shift all government payments — including salaries, pensions, taxes, and utility bills — to the digital system.