KARACHI: Pakistan on Friday launched the National Payments System Strategy (NPSS) to boost its economic growth by seven percent, create four million jobs and attract $263 billion of new deposits by 2025, officials said.
State Bank of Pakistan Governor Dr. Reza Baqir and World Bank President David Malpass launched the NPSS in Karachi, targeting one million new Point of Sales (PoS) as part of the country’s plan to digitize its economy and achieve greater financial inclusion.
“The State Bank will continue to strengthen legal and regulatory framework [of the country] to bring it in line with the best international practices. Our main focus will be to digitize retail payments and introduce new digital instruments in the country. We would like to give the challenging target of digitizing a million new merchant locations within the next three years,” Dr. Baqir said at the launching ceremony of the NPSS at the headquarters of the country’s central bank.
The availability of PoS acceptance devices has grown more briskly than that of ATMs. By FY2019, there were 56,911 PoS acceptance devices in use, 48 for every 100,000 adults, according to the SBP. The central bank estimates that the digitization of payment system will represent a potential market of $36 billion by 2025.
Pakistan’s market is mainly dominated by cash-based commercial transactions with very little use of electronic payments, especially by micro and small retailers. The country’s economic managers hope that the digitization of the economy will also provide sufficient resources for investment purposes.
“Digital inclusion is part of our strategy which will ultimately provide pool of massive resources for financing investment in Pakistan,” Dr. Baqir said. “It will be easier to make and receive payments which will also help people save and plan their financial future better.”
Speaking on the occasion the World Bank president called on banks and other institutions to collaborate and increase the number of individuals and formal businesses using the system, saying: “An increase in the number of users will bring down the cost of transactions.”
Malpass also offered the help of the World Bank to implement the national payment strategy as part of the global push for digital financial inclusion. “The [State Bank] governor can call me or my team,” he added. “We have a very strong team in Pakistan with expertise, energy and drive. We want to help make [the system] work.”
Officials say the objective of the government’s strategy is to make recommendations to design a National Payments System that is in compliance with international standards and best practices, besides being tailored for specific circumstances and needs for a safe, efficient and inclusive National Payment Systems in Pakistan.
Pakistan launches national strategy to move from cash to electronic payment system
https://arab.news/8jzk2
Pakistan launches national strategy to move from cash to electronic payment system
- The country expects the change to result in seven percent economic growth rate by 2025
- The new payment mechanism will also result in greater financial inclusion in Pakistan
Traders say Karachi plaza fire caused $54 million losses as search for bodies continues
- Authorities say at least 67 people died in January 17 blaze at Gul Plaza complex
- Recovery teams search unstable debris, Sindh government announces compensation
ISLAMABAD/KARACHI: A deadly fire at a major shopping plaza in Pakistan’s largest city of Karachi has caused estimated losses of up to Rs15 billion ($53.6 million), a traders representative said this week, as authorities continue rescue and recovery operations and struggle to identify dozens of victims killed in the blaze.
The fire broke out on Jan. 17 at Gul Plaza, a densely packed commercial building in the heart of Karachi and home to over 1,200 shops, trapping workers and shoppers inside and burning for more than 24 hours before being brought under control. At least 67 people have been confirmed dead, officials say, while recovery teams remain at the site amid fears of further structural collapse.
Tanveer Pasta, president of the Gul Plaza Market Association, said all shops in the plaza were destroyed, estimating total losses at up to Rs15 billion ($53.6 million).
“There were big importers sitting here,” he told Arab News on Thursday. “Just three days before this fire, 31 [shipping] containers were unloaded.”
Earlier this week, the Sindh government had announced compensation of Rs10 million ($35,720) for each person killed in the fire and said affected shopkeepers would also receive financial assistance.
Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab said the city administration remained focused on rescue operations and on handing over victims’ remains to their families as quickly as possible. His remarks came after he visited the homes of several victims, according to a statement from his office.
“Rescue personnel of the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation are still engaged in the rescue operation, while the administration is making every effort to hand over [remains] of the victims, loved ones to their families at the earliest,” Wahab was quoted as saying.
Identification has been significantly slowed by the condition of the bodies recovered from the site, Karachi Police Surgeon Dr. Summaiya Syed said.
Most remains were found in fragments, she said, complicating forensic identification and prolonging the process for families waiting for confirmation.
Relatives of more than a dozen missing persons have remained near the destroyed plaza and at hospitals even after providing DNA samples. Some families have criticized what they describe as the slow pace of recovery and identification.
Wahab said the provincial government had committed to supporting affected families and rehabilitating victims.
“The Sindh government would also not sit back until the victims are fully rehabilitated and that all possible support would be provided [to them],” he said.
Authorities have not yet confirmed the cause of the fire. Police have said preliminary indications point to a possible electrical short circuit, though officials stress conclusions will only be drawn after investigations are completed.
Deadly fires are a recurring problem in Karachi, a city of more than 20 million people, where overcrowded markets, aging infrastructure, illegal construction and weak enforcement of safety regulations frequently contribute to disasters. Officials say a blaze of this scale is rare.
