Pakistan's digital move is more than just convenience; it’s about creating lasting financial capabilities for all
Photo: Reuters
Last month, while visiting my hometown, Hyderabad, I stopped at a small kiryana store. The owner wasn’t talking about technology at all. He was talking about time.
“Pehle roz ka hisaab raat ko hota tha,” he said. “Ab QR pe paisa aata hai, aur record bhi ban jata hai.” (Before, he would settle accounts at night. Now, payments come in instantly, and a record is created automatically.)
That "record" is the part of Pakistan’s digital shift we don’t talk about enough. We often discuss cashless transactions as a convenience. For most small merchants and micro-entrepreneurs, it’s something bigger: proof. Proof of sales, proof of cash flow, proof that they exist in the formal economy.
Pakistan is at a point where digital payments are no longer a niche behaviour. The rails are being used at scale, and the big question is: can we turn payment behaviour into financial
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