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| Product type | Instant payment system |
|---|---|
| Owner | State Bank of Pakistan |
| Produced by | State Bank of Pakistan, Karandaaz Pakistan |
| Country | Pakistan |
| Introduced | 11 January 2021; 4 years ago (2021-01-11) |
| Website | www |
Raast (Urdu:راست;lit. 'direct') is aninstantpayment system developed by theState Bank of Pakistan (SBP).[1] It operates using the state-of-the-art Pakistan Faster Payment System (PFPS), facilitating real-time settlement of small-value retail payments, including inter-bankpeer-to-peer (P2P) and person-to-merchant (P2M) transactions.[2] It also enables digital payments between banks, businesses, and individuals, offering a free, fast, and reliable person-to-person (P2P) service within Pakistan. Users can conveniently send or receive money using Raast IDs, which are linked to their mobile numbers and bank accounts, making the process seamless and cost-free.[3][4][5][6]
Raast was launched by then Prime MinisterImran Khan on 11 January 2021. Raast is an initiative led by theState Bank of Pakistan, that received backing from theBill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Karandaaz Pakistan. It was developed with World Bank assistance.[7]
Raast began its development in 2018. Bulk/Batch payments (e.g., dividend disbursementsfrom the SBP CDC) went live in January 2021.[3][8]
Raastpeer-to-peer was launched in February 2022 to enable person-to-person transactions and facilitate free digital banking.[8][9]
By the first quarter of FY 2025, Raast platform was being used to settle transactions worthRs. 4.79 trillion (US$17 billion), with Rs. 4.69 trillion of it being peer-to-peer transfers, up from justRs. 100 billion (US$350 million) at the end of FY 2022.[10]
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