{
  "id": 19771764,
  "title": "Govt moves to continue subsidy for Raast QR payments",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/13/govt-moves-to-continue-subsidy-for-raast-qr-payments",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-11-13T07:01:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Business Recorder",
    "slug": "business-recorder",
    "url": "https://www.brecorder.com/news/40448745/govt-moves-to-continue-subsidy-for-raast-qr-payments"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has decided to extend the subsidy on merchant discount rate (MDR) charges for Raast QR payments to encourage more merchants to adopt digital payment systems, according to a statement from the finance ministry. This move was discussed during a meeting between the Minister of State for Finance, Bilal Azhar Kayani, and leaders from banks, including presidents, CEOs, and chief digital officers. The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), Raast's CEO, and officials from Karandaaz also participated in the meeting. Kayani urged banks to play a more significant role in advancing the Prime Minister's Cashless Pakistan Initiative and promoting digital payment adoption. He detailed the government's support for this initiative, including the Raast QR subsidy to help reduce MDR charges. The Prime Minister has decided to continue the subsidy to keep the momentum going in digital payment adoption. During the meeting, the minister provided an update on the initiative's progress, including increased digital payment adoption and the digitization of government payments. He set targets for fiscal year 2026 and highlighted the significant progress made towards achieving these goals. The Prime Minister's Cashless Committee is working to focus more closely and refine its targets, including by adopting new indicators and setting new targets, to speed up the digitization of payments. The minister invited banking executives to share their ideas and suggestions to improve outcomes for Pakistan's cashless journey. The minister directed the SBP to hold detailed consultations with banks' chief digital officers, as well as Raast's CEO and Karandaaz, to create practical recommendations for the Prime Minister's Cashless Committee. The goal of these consultations is to improve the user experience across digital payment methods, including QR payments, and finalize suggestions to promote wider adoption.",
  "summary": "Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has decided to continue the subsidy on merchant discount rate (MDR) charges for Raast QR payments to encourage wider merchant adoption of digital payment systems, the finance ministry said on Friday. The development came during a meeting between Minister of State for Finance, Bilal Azhar Kayani, and the presidents, chief executive officers and chief digital officers…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}