Standards/raast-p2m-qr
Raast P2M QR
Overview
Raast P2M (Person-to-Merchant) QR is Pakistan's national instant-payment merchant-acceptance standard, launched 6 December 2023 by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) 2, Pakistan report. Raast P2M sits on top of the Raast instant-payment rail (operational since 2021 for P2P and bulk) and adds the QR-merchant-acceptance layer using an SBP-issued indigenous QR standard released March 2022 for both P2P and P2M flows 1, Pakistan report. Raast P2M makes Pakistan's payment-system architecture functionally complete: P2P + Bulk + P2M all on the same SBP-operated rail.
Raast's macro statistics are striking: 1.9 billion transactions and PKR 44 trillion (~US $158B) processed since launch, with the first trillion taking 360 days and the most recent trillion taking just 9 days — a 40× velocity increase Pakistan report. To accelerate P2M adoption, SBP mandated all merchants accept digital payments by 31 October 2025 and committed a PKR 3.5 billion (~US $12.6M) subsidy for merchant QR adoption in 2025-26 Pakistan report. As of May 2024, 25 banks were live with Raast P2M. Raast Payments Pakistan (Pvt) Ltd, a wholly-owned SBP subsidiary, was incorporated in FY 2024-25 to operate the platform with separated operational governance.
History
Background — Pakistan's payment landscape pre-Raast Pakistan report:
- 1LINK — interbank ATM switch since 1999; operates PayPak national card scheme.
- PRISM+ — SBP's RTGS for large-value settlement.
- JazzCash, Easypaisa, NayaPay — major mobile-wallet operators, technically closed loops with limited inter-wallet interoperability.
- Pre-Raast: cross-bank instant payments were slow and expensive; QR landscape was fragmented across closed-loop wallets.
2018-2020 — SBP plans national instant-payment rail 3:
- World Bank technical assistance.
- Modelled in part on India's UPI QR — same central-bank-coordinated, open-loop, ISO-20022-aligned design pattern.
11 January 2021 — Raast P2P launches 3, Pakistan report:
- Phase 1: Person-to-Person + Bulk (government/business batch payments).
- SBP launches Raast as Pakistan's first instant-payment rail.
- Initial bank participation grew rapidly.
March 2022 — SBP issues indigenous QR standard 2:
- SBP publishes Pakistan's indigenous Standard for QR-Code-Based Payments for both P2P and P2M flows.
- This is the technical foundation for all subsequent Raast QR acceptance.
6 December 2023 — Raast P2M launches 2, Pakistan report:
- SBP launches the interoperable Raast P2M service for digital payment acceptance at merchants and businesses.
- Channels: QR Code, Raast Alias, IBAN, RTP (Request-to-Pay).
- Static and Dynamic QR support.
1 March 2024 — Mandatory bank enablement deadline 2:
- SBP directs all Regulated Entities to enable Raast P2M capabilities across mobile apps, internet banking portals, and USSD channels by 1 March 2024.
- Aggressive timeline ensuring broad bank coverage within 3 months.
31 May 2024 — 25 banks live with Raast P2M (IBAN-based QR) Pakistan report:
- All major Pakistani banks live on the rail.
Raast Payments Pakistan (Pvt) Ltd founded (FY 2024-25) Pakistan report:
- SBP incorporates a wholly-owned subsidiary to operate the Raast platform.
- Separation of "central-bank-as-regulator" from "central-bank-as-operator" — common best-practice governance for national payment rails.
2025-26 — PKR 3.5B subsidy + 31 October 2025 mandate Pakistan report:
- SBP commits PKR 3.5 billion (~US $12.6M) in subsidies for merchant QR adoption.
- 31 October 2025 deadline: all merchants required to accept digital payments.
- Combined push designed to drive Raast P2M from 25-bank rollout to mass-merchant adoption.
Cumulative statistics (since 2021 launch) Pakistan report:
- 1.9 billion transactions.
- PKR 44 trillion processed (~US $158B).
- First trillion: 360 days; most recent trillion: 9 days = 40× velocity acceleration.
Technical specification
Raast is a textbook modern instant-payment-rail architecture 1, 2, 3:
| Layer | Description |
|---|---|
| Operator | Raast Payments Pakistan (Pvt) Ltd (SBP subsidiary, since FY 2024-25) |
| Regulator | State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) |
| Underlying rail | Raast instant-payment system (since Jan 2021) |
| Messaging | ISO 20022 |
| Settlement | Instant, 24/7/365 |
| Currency | PKR (Pakistani rupee) |
| QR standard | SBP indigenous Standard for QR-Code-Based Payments (March 2022) |
| Account model | Account-based; IBAN proxies |
Payment modes (Raast P2M) 1, 2:
| Mode | Description |
|---|---|
| Static QR | Fixed merchant QR; customer enters amount |
| Dynamic QR | Per-transaction QR with embedded amount |
| Raast Alias | Mobile-number / username proxy for IBAN |
| IBAN | Direct IBAN payment |
| Request-to-Pay (RTP) Now | Merchant pushes payment request; customer confirms immediately |
| Request-to-Pay (RTP) Later | Scheduled / deferred payment-request workflow |
Channels for bank enablement (mandated by 1 March 2024) 2:
- Mobile banking apps
- Internet banking portals
- USSD channels (feature-phone compatibility — a critical inclusion in Pakistan where smartphone penetration is incomplete)
Indigenous QR standard (March 2022) 2:
- SBP issued the QR specification rather than adopting EMVCo MPM/CPM directly.
- Distinguishes Raast from KE-QR Code, NQR, DuitNow QR (all EMVCo-mandated).
- The "indigenous" framing suggests Pakistan-specific extensions to standard EMVCo or a wholly proprietary base — public sources do not specify which.
Use cases
P2P transfers (Raast Phase 1, since 2021) 3: Person-to-person; mobile number as alias.
Government / business bulk payments 3: Salaries, pensions, government disbursements — Raast Bulk in Phase 1.
P2M (merchant acceptance, since December 2023) 2, Pakistan report:
- Customer scans merchant QR → instant settlement.
- Targeted use cases: retail stores, restaurants, government fee payment, utility bills.
Request-to-Pay 2: Sender requests funds (Now or Later) — supports invoicing and recurring-payment scenarios.
USSD-channel access 2: Crucial for feature-phone users in Pakistan's mass-market — Raast P2M is required to be USSD-accessible, addressing the same structural gap that NQR in Nigeria has struggled with.
Implementations & ecosystem
Operator: Raast Payments Pakistan (Pvt) Ltd (SBP wholly-owned subsidiary, since FY 2024-25).
Regulator: SBP (State Bank of Pakistan).
Participating banks (25+ as of May 2024) Pakistan report:
- Habib Bank Limited (HBL) — largest.
- National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) — state-owned.
- United Bank Limited (UBL).
- MCB Bank.
- Allied Bank Limited.
- Plus 20+ additional licensed banks.
Mobile wallets: JazzCash, Easypaisa, NayaPay — mobile-wallet integration is part of the broader Raast ecosystem.
Card network coordination: 1LINK (operator of PayPak) and the broader Pakistani interbank network coordinate with Raast for full system interoperability.
No public open-source SDK has been identified; merchant integration via participating banks and Raast Payments Pakistan.
Fun facts
- Velocity acceleration: 360 days → 9 days for the same PKR trillion: Raast's pace of processing the same volume increased 40× between its first and most recent trillion-PKR milestones — one of the steepest adoption curves of any national instant-payment rail in history.
- Indigenous QR standard, not EMVCo: SBP's choice to issue a Pakistan-specific QR standard in March 2022 — rather than adopt EMVCo MPM/CPM directly — is structurally noteworthy. Possible reasons: USSD-feature-phone compatibility requirements, alignment with PRISM+ messaging, or political-economy considerations about reliance on Western payment standards.
- PKR 3.5 billion merchant subsidy (2025-26): SBP is directly subsidising merchant QR adoption — a financial push behind the regulatory deadline. Compare with TWQR's 100% transit-fare-rebate subsidy.
- Mandatory all-merchants-by-31-October-2025: One of the most aggressive central-bank-mandated digital-payment timelines globally. Comparable to India's UPI mandates and Saudi Arabia's Mada rollout.
- USSD channel mandate: SBP requires Raast P2M to be accessible via USSD on feature phones — addressing the structural gap that has caused NQR Nigeria to underperform. Pakistan learns from regional negative case studies.
- Raast Payments Pakistan (Pvt) Ltd: SBP's creation of a wholly-owned subsidiary in FY 2024-25 mirrors the NPCI India model — separating central-bank-as-regulator from central-bank-as-operator for governance clarity.
- Built on World Bank technical assistance: Raast was designed with World Bank input — making it (alongside MIA QR's USAID-funded origin and Cambodia's KHQR World Bank backing) one of the more prominent donor-supported payment-infrastructure projects.
- UPI as the inspiration model: Raast's open-loop architecture and indigenous-standard framing closely parallel UPI QR India — explicitly modelled on the most successful peer rail in South Asia.
Comparison
| Feature | Raast P2M (PK) | UPI QR (IN) | DuitNow QR (MY) | PromptPay QR (TH) | NQR (NG) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Launch (national rail) | 2021 (P2P), Dec 2023 (P2M) | 2016 | 2017 (rail), 2019 (QR) | 2017 | Mar 2021 |
| Operator | Raast Payments Pakistan (SBP subsidiary) | NPCI (RBI-coordinated) | PayNet | NITMX/ITMX | NIBSS |
| QR standard | SBP indigenous (Mar 2022) | NPCI proprietary | EMVCo MPM/CPM | EMVCo MPM | EMVCo MPM/CPM |
| Channels mandated | Apps + portals + USSD | Apps + USSD (*99#) | Apps + portals | Apps + portals | Apps + USSD |
| Merchant mandate deadline | 31 Oct 2025 | None (UPI is voluntary, but ubiquitous) | None (regulator-encouraged) | None | None |
| Subsidy | PKR 3.5B for merchant QR (2025-26) | None | None | Limited | None |
Closest peer: UPI QR India — explicitly modelled on. Both are central-bank-coordinated open-loop rails with indigenous QR standards.
Structural distinction: Pakistan's regulatory-mandate + subsidy combo is more aggressive than India's voluntary-but-ubiquitous UPI rollout — partly because Pakistan must catch up to a regional benchmark while India set it organically.
Status
Active, accelerating adoption 2, Pakistan report:
- Raast P2P live since Jan 2021; P2M since Dec 2023.
- 25 banks live with Raast P2M (May 2024).
- 1.9 billion transactions / PKR 44 trillion cumulative.
- 40× velocity acceleration (360 days → 9 days per PKR trillion).
- PKR 3.5B subsidy + 31 October 2025 mandate for merchant adoption.
- Raast Payments Pakistan (Pvt) Ltd incorporated as operator.
- ISO 20022 messaging; SBP indigenous QR standard.
Outlook: Approaching the 31 October 2025 merchant mandate — likely producing a step-change in merchant QR coverage. Possible cross-border integration with regional peers (UAE Aani, regional MENA-South Asia corridors).
Sources
- 1 Raast P2M — State Bank of Pakistan
- 2 Raast P2M launch circular — SBP
- 3 Raast Overview — SBP
- Pakistan report
reports/countries/PK-pakistan.md
Deployments
Found in the following country reports (grep across reports/countries/):
- PK — PK-pakistan.md