Pakistan
Payments

Pakistan's local stack combines Raast transfers, mobile financial services and cash-in/cash-out agents. A wallet can offer Raast transfers while merchant collection, card processing and agent withdrawals remain separately priced products. The operator's task is to choose a collection route that can be verified and reconciled against an order, and a payout route that reaches the intended recipient.

Real-time payments — Raast

SBP's Raast P2P FAQ describes transfers to a registered Raast ID or IBAN, with limits set by the participating institution. It states there are currently no charges for P2P transfers.

P2M is the merchant product: static and dynamic QR, merchant aliases, IBAN and Request to Pay. Require a merchant reference, server-side verification, duplicate handling and a refund process. A customer screenshot is insufficient evidence to release an order.

Pricing: SBP's September 2025 QR support scheme ran through June 2026 and allowed onboarding/servicing charges up to 0.25% alongside the subsidy. That historical scheme does not establish today's price. Compare the current bank or PSP tariff, taxes and settlement schedule rather than extrapolating from free P2P.

Mobile wallets — JazzCash and EasyPaisa duopoly

JazzCash and easypaisa combine digital interfaces with agent distribution. Agents can matter for customers who need physical cash access even when a bank-transfer route exists.

easypaisa Bank received its Digital Retail Bank licence in January 2025. Identify the legal entity in each JazzCash banking or merchant contract; neither brand should be classified as a PSO from its interface alone. Registered accounts and monthly-active customers are different metrics and should not be added to infer unique reach.

Test wallet eligibility, balance limits, merchant confirmation, refunds and cash-out charges. A bank-to-wallet transfer, merchant QR payment and agent withdrawal are separate events. Price and availability of one do not establish the others.

Cards — small share, growing slowly

Cards can complement wallets and Raast for domestic and international purchases. 1LINK provides domestic switching infrastructure; PayPak is the domestic card scheme. Visa and Mastercard are separate international schemes. Confirm the cards and channels covered by the acquiring contract.

Compare issuer geography, authentication, refunds, disputes and billed events. A switch connection does not establish a merchant price or prove that a foreign PSP can onboard a Pakistani entity.

E-commerce — wallets, Raast, and cash on delivery

A stack can combine wallets, Raast P2M, cards and cash on delivery without treating them as a measured national mix. For COD, compare delivery failures, returned-order handling and remittance cycles with the logistics partner. For digital collection, compare callbacks, refunds and reconciliation. Evaluate cost per delivered, reconciled order as well as the transaction fee.

Crypto and digital assets

A domestic payment integration does not establish permission for crypto, stablecoin or cross-border remittance activity. Assess the current virtual-asset, payment and foreign-exchange requirements for the actual entity and service. Raast or wallet availability alone does not authorise a crypto-related funds flow.

Regulator and licensing — SBP and SECP

SBP regulates banking and payment activity; SECP has a separate role in non-bank financial activities. Banks, microfinance banks, digital banks, EMIs and PSOs/PSPs have distinct permissions. A service brand is not a licence category.

In a partnership, document who holds funds, safeguards balances, executes instructions, carries out AML checks and handles complaints. Check the current SBP authorisation for the legal counterparty and product. Do not infer a universal capital amount, foreign-ownership permission or approval timeline across these frameworks.

PSP coverage

Evaluate local acceptance providers such as PayFast and Safepay, wallet merchant products from JazzCash and easypaisa, and an EMI product such as NayaPay according to the required service. These are candidates to assess, not certifications of every method or permission.

SBP's P2M participant list identifies institutions offering that service. Confirm onboarding eligibility, settlement account, reference fields, current fees and exception handling. Offshore collection through a foreign entity is different from Pakistani local merchant acquiring.

For regional comparison see India and Kenya; their regulatory and pricing arrangements should not be imported into Pakistan.