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ABR 2025 26(Entrepreneurial)printed 57 · PDF 67
102 pagesrevision 50940
printed 57 · PDF 67
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Merchant
resistance:
Most
small
businesses want cash to evade tax or
transaction charges. Cultural habits will
not die anytime soon—and in Pakistan,
the love affair with cash is
The Role of Government: Enabler or
Barrier?
While
platforms
like
Raast
show
promise,
policy
enforcement
must
remain firm. Regulation, security, and
digital infrastructure should be able to
keep
up
with
innovation.
The
government can uniquely have the
ability
to:
•
Facilitate
electronic
transactions amongst buyers and sellers
•
Introduce
tax
documents
with
electronic
bills
•
Coordinate
rural
development
fintech
businesses
•
Launch national online campaigns If
done right, Pakistan would learn from
India's digital story, where payments
such as UPI (Unified Payments Interface)
changed the whole world of finance.
Then… Will Pakistan become Cashless?
The short answer: No way, and not
anytime soon. But the path forward is
certain. Pakistan is headed to a hybrid in
which cash may still exist but electronic
payment will be the standard in urban
and semi-urban settings. Cashless is the
norm for the next generation. The future
belongs to those who can fill the gap—
startups who understand the local
psyche, gain the trust of the people, and
offer easy-to-use digital solutions. And
in a nation where more than 70% of the
people are younger than age 35,
57
Enterprise Edition
the move away from cash and toward
clicks isn't something to be thought
about—it's unavoidable.