{
  "id": 19893431,
  "title": "Govt decides to make Islamabad a cashless city by Dec 31",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/14/govt-decides-to-make-islamabad-a-cashless-city-by-dec-31",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-11-14T00:08:51.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Business Recorder",
    "slug": "business-recorder",
    "url": "https://www.brecorder.com/news/40448874/govt-decides-to-make-islamabad-a-cashless-city-by-dec-31"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Islamabad has been chosen to become Pakistan's inaugural cashless city by December 31, announced the government on Friday. This decision was made during a meeting led by Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry. The objective is to integrate every merchant into the digital payment system by the designated deadline, according to a statement released by the Ministry of Interior on its X social media account. During the meeting, Chaudhry emphasized the importance of consultations and recommendations from all stakeholders to ensure the project's success.\n\nChaudhry explained that work on the cashless Islamabad initiative has been ongoing since directives were received from Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Federal Minister for Interior Mohsin Naqvi. Naqvi had assured the Prime Minister that Islamabad would be the first cashless city in Pakistan and the world's first cashless federal capital. Following this commitment, no cash transactions will be accepted in any department of the Capital Development Authority (CDA) and the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) administration starting from November 30. The main goal is to integrate all merchants into the cashless system by December 31.\n\nTo date, 26,000 merchants in Islamabad have already been connected to digital payment facilities. Chaudhry assured that digital payment services will be accessible at every level, from street vendors and small businesses to large commercial centers. He further highlighted that the transition to a cashless system would enhance financial transparency, tax monitoring, and the overall efficiency of financial transactions. Representatives from the Capital Development Authority (CDA), the banking sector, and other senior officials joined the meeting along with Sohail Ashraf, Chairman of the Capital Development Authority (CDA).",
  "summary": "ISLAMABAD: The government on Friday decided to make the federal capital Pakistan’s first fully cashless city until December 31. The decision was taken in a meeting presided over by Minister of State for Interior, Talal Chaudhry. The meeting decided to transform Islamabad into a cashless city and set December 31 as a deadline for integrating all merchants into the digital payment system, according…",
  "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."
}