KARACHI: The coronavirus pandemic is accelerating Pakistan’s shift toward a cashless future as more people have been forced to overcome the fear of using digital payment methods, senior bankers said on Wednesday after a survey showed a significant rise in online shopping.
The survey by financial giant Visa on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on payment behavior in Pakistan revealed on Monday that 43 percent of consumers have reduced in-store shopping since the virus outbreak, while for their e-commerce purchases more than half (55 percent) were using cards instead of cash on delivery (COD).
“When the consumers started using technological platforms for the payment during the pandemic, they realized that it is easy and secured way of making transaction,” Syed Ibne Hassan, vice president of National Bank of Pakistan, told Arab News. “The fear related to the use of technology has subsided now and consumers are more familiar (with it).”
Pakistan’s economy has been dominated by cash as this payment method is considered safe by both buyers and sellers. Most wages and salaries are paid in cash as well. The pandemic, however, has forced more people to use cards and contactless payments due to movement restrictions and lockdowns following the outbreak. People also not want to have to touch cash and risk contracting the virus.
The Visa survey showed that 55 percent of online shoppers expressed their willingness to continue to make more purchases online, and 49 percent said they will continue to opt more for paying with card over COD. For in-store purchases, 56% of consumers say they will continue to use QR code payments with their mobile phones more.
“This trend accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic. For perspective, at Habib Bank Limited (HBL), digital transactions on HBL Mobile and Internet banking have risen by almost 90 percent compared with the same period last year. This growth proves that COVID-19 fueled a rise in digital payments in Pakistan,” Sagheer Mufti, chief operating officer at HBL, told Arab News.
Pakistan’s central bank expects that migration to electronic means will boost the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) by 7 percent, create 4 million jobs, and result in $263 billion in new deposits — representing a potential market of $36 billion by 2025.
With increased usage of digital payments, however, rises the probability of cyberattacks.
“With increased usage both among experienced and first-time users, cybercriminals too are keen to capitalize on the increased activity and vulnerability, especially of first-time online shoppers,” Neil Fernandes, Visa’s head of risk for the Middle East and North Africa, said.
“That is why educating consumers about safe payment behavior is critical not only for the moment but as we move forward and adapt to the new normal.”
Coronavirus accelerates Pakistan’s shift away from cash to digital payment, bankers say
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Coronavirus accelerates Pakistan’s shift away from cash to digital payment, bankers say
- 43 percent of Pakistani consumers surveyed by Visa have reduced in-store shopping since the virus outbreak
- Pandemic has forced more people to use cards and contactless payments due to movement restrictions and lockdowns
Islamabad denies Kabul’s claims of downing Pakistani fighter jet, capturing pilot
- Reports of a Pakistani jet crash emerged amid cross-border clashes between Pakistan, Afghanistan
- Information ministry labels such reports ‘coordinated’ disinformation campaign by Kabul, New Delhi
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s government on Saturday dismissed claims by Afghan Taliban officials that a Pakistani fighter jet had been shot down over eastern Afghanistan and its pilot captured, calling such media reports part of a “coordinated” disinformation campaign.
The statement follows a report by AFP that quoted Afghan military and police officials in Jalalabad, who claimed to have downed an aircraft in Nangarhar province. The reports come at a time of cross-border skirmishes between the neighbors over a rise in militancy in Pakistan.
The latest clashes erupted after Pakistani airstrikes on Afghan territory last weekend triggered retaliatory attacks along the border on Thursday, exacerbating long-simmering disputes over Islamabad’s claims that Kabul shelters Pakistani Taliban militants. Afghanistan denies it.
Following reports of the Taliban shooting down Pakistani jet, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MoIB) in Islamabad issued a detailed fact-check, saying there was no evidence to support the Afghan claims.
“The claim that a Pakistani fighter jet was shot down in Nangarhar and its pilot captured is false,” the ministry said in a statement. “No aircraft loss has been verified. No pilot capture evidence exists. Circulated visuals are recycled and unrelated.”
The ministry said the reports were being “amplified by Indian media and Afghan propaganda outlets” to construct a false narrative, noting that images circulated by some Afghan news agencies were actually from a 2021 aircraft incident in Turkiye.
The Pakistani ministry urged the public to exercise caution and not to rely on “unverified battlefield claims circulated through partisan or hostile outlets.”
Wahidullah Mohammadi, a spokesman for the military in eastern Afghanistan, earlier told AFP the jet was downed by Afghan forces and the pilot was “captured alive.” Local residents reported hearing explosions and seeing a parachute near the city’s airport, according to the news agency.
The contradictory claims come amid a significant military flare-up along the Durand Line.
Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said Pakistani forces had killed 331 Afghan fighters and targeted 37 military locations in 48 hours of clashes that followed Islamabad’s airstrikes on alleged militant camps in Afghanistan last week. Conversely, Afghan officials claimed more than 50 Pakistani soldiers had been killed. The figures from both sides couldn’t be independently verified.
The international community, including the United Nations, China, and Russia, has called for an immediate end to hostilities. While the United States has expressed support for Pakistan’s right to defend itself against militant attacks, the European Union has urged both sides to de-escalate.
