ISLAMABAD

Pakistan has decided to integrate its digital payment infrastructure with the Arab world's Buna platform, a cross-border payment system owned by the Arab Monetary Fund, local media reported on Friday.

The decision was shared on Thursday during a meeting of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Finance, chaired by Syed Naveed Qamar, where State Bank of Pakistan Governor Jameel Ahmed briefed lawmakers on the initiative, according to The News International.

Ahmed told the committee that the integration will make remittances from overseas Pakistanis faster, more efficient and more secure.

The Buna platform will facilitate cross-border inflows from overseas Pakistanis, but will not allow for outflows of funds, he said.

Buna, launched in 2020, is a multi-currency regional payment system that enables financial institutions to send and receive payments in both Arab and international currencies. It currently supports the Saudi Riyal and Emirati Dirham, with plans to expand to other currencies.

Currently, more than 5.5 million Pakistanis reside in Gulf countries, including Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

In the 2024-25 fiscal year, Pakistan received over $38.3 billion in workers’ remittances, with $9.34 billion coming from Saudi Arabia, $7.83 billion from the United Arab Emirates, $5.99 billion from the United Kingdom, and $3.72 billion from the US.

Ahmed also briefed the lawmakers on Pakistan’s plan to introduce a cashless economy by June 2026, and provide digital financial services to 75% of the youth.

According to the central bank official, Pakistan currently has 95 million active mobile banking users, 226 million bank accounts, and 850,000 QR merchants.