Islamabad, September 11 – National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) has successfully enabled digital passport fee collections through Raast Person-to-Merchant (P2M) QR, allowing citizens to conveniently pay passport fees through the mobile applications of participating banks.
The initiative represents another step in NBP’s ongoing digital transformation journey and supports the Government of Pakistan’s broader Cashless Pakistan agenda, which seeks to expand digital payments and accelerate the digitization of government payments and receipts.
To review the implementation and explore opportunities for further collaboration, Ch. Muhammad Ali Randhawa, Director General Immigration & Passports, along with his team, visited NBP Head Office, Karachi, where he met with Mr. Abdul Wahid Sethi, SEVP & Group Chief/ CFO, Financial Control Group; Mr. Faisal Topra, SEVP & Group Chief, Operations Group and Mr. Adnan Nasir, CDO & Group Chief Digital Banking Group, along with senior officials from NBP’s Digital Banking and Operations teams.
The engagement reviewed the performance of the Raast-based cashless passport fee payment solution and explored further digital payment options, including a PSID-based alternate payment mechanism, aimed at enhancing convenience and ensuring continuity of passport fee collections.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Abdul Wahid Sethi said “At NBP, we see digital transformation as an important enabler of more accessible, efficient and customer-centric public services. We are pleased to support the Government of Pakistan’s digital payments and cashless economy agenda and remain committed to leveraging technology to make financial services simpler and more accessible for citizens.”
Director General Immigration & Passports appreciated NBP’s efforts and collaboration in advancing digital transformation and improving public service delivery.
The successful implementation of the initiative further strengthens NBP’s role in enabling interoperable digital payments and supporting the modernization of government-related collections, in line with Pakistan’s evolving digital payments ecosystem. Raast is Pakistan’s instant payment system, designed to facilitate digital payments across individuals, businesses and government entities.
