Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has directed authorities to make all overseas remittances fully digital as part of the government’s push to expand Pakistan’s cashless economy.

Chairing a meeting on digital payments in Islamabad, the prime minister also instructed officials to encourage more businesses to accept QR code payments through stronger public awareness campaigns.

Officials informed the meeting that 92% of overseas remittances were already received through digital channels during fiscal year 2025-26. Pakistan also recorded a historic $41.6 billion in workers’ remittances during the year.

The government said it has expanded the Roshan Digital Account programme to allow foreign nationals and overseas investors to participate.

The meeting was told that digital payment adoption has accelerated over the past year. The number of merchants accepting QR code payments has increased from around 500,000 to 2 million, while mobile banking users have grown from 95 million to 137 million.

Officials also said all payments to 10 million Benazir Income Support Programme beneficiaries are now made through digital wallets, while 99% of NADRA payments have been digitized.

Pakistan processed 11.9 billion digital transactions during FY2025-26, and a third-party review of the government’s cashless economy initiative is expected to be completed by November.