Government ends cheque payments under Asaan Assignment Accounts from November 15
All payments under the scheme will move to Raast from November 16, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was told at a meeting on the cashless economy.
The federal government will stop cheque-based payments under the Asaan Assignment Accounts system after November 15, and every payment from November 16 will be made through Raast, TechJuice reported.
The decision was announced at a meeting on promoting a cashless economy chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday. The meeting was called to review progress on the government's push for digital payments. Officials told the meeting that drawing and disbursing officers had already received training for the transition.
Digitisation of payments is progressing across federal and provincial departments, and most institutions are expected to complete the process by December 2026, the officials said. Payments under the Benazir Income Support Programme are now made entirely through digital wallets.
The prime minister directed the authorities to prepare a roadmap with specific targets and deadlines for a fully digital payments system, and asked every ministry and government institution to ensure the cashless economy plan is fully implemented. He instructed officials to address technical and consumer-related problems without delay, and said wider access to technology and reliable internet connectivity were essential to the initiative's success.
The meeting reviewed efforts to promote Raast QR code payments between consumers and merchants. The prime minister said QR-based payments were advancing the government's cashless economy vision and directed that the initiative continue under government patronage. He called for an effective media campaign encouraging electricity and gas consumers to pay their bills by scanning the QR codes printed on them.
Officials said work was under way on a system to enable digital transactions in areas without internet access, and that efforts to improve internet infrastructure nationwide were being accelerated.
The prime minister described the transition to digital payments as a key government priority and commended the finance ministry and other institutions for their efforts.
How the reports differ
Profit by Pakistan Today led on the shift to Raast from November 16, the same start date TechJuice reported. TechJuice alone carried the setting of the decision, a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, along with the training of drawing and disbursing officers, the December 2026 target for departments, digital wallet payments under the Benazir Income Support Programme and the prime minister's directions on QR code bill payments and connectivity.
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