News Desk
Pakistan’s first instant Digital Payment System ‘Raast’ has been launched by the Prime Minister Imran Khan to take the country from cash to digital economy.
According to media reports, the Prime Minister while addressing the launching ceremony in Islamabad on Monday has said that the ‘Raast’ initiative will help boost formal economy, financial inclusion of women, and eradicate poverty from the country.
Imran Khan further stated that cash economy is the biggest hurdle in tapping true potential of 220 million population of Pakistan.
“Cash economy badly affect tax collection, which is evident with the fact that only two million out of 220 million people are tax filers, while 30,000 of taxpayers make 70 percent of the total tax collection in the country,” he said.
The Prime Minister has said that digital Pakistan is a step forward from cash economy towards the point, where we can take maximum benefit of our 220 million population.
PM Imran Khan also congratulated State Bank of Pakistan for working on this initiative of ‘Raast’ and bank efforts for engaging overseas Pakistanis in convincing them to send remittances through formal channels.
The Premier has said that the foreign remittances have significantly improved as a result of these efforts.
“Our Current Account Deficit has become surplus, which has reduced pressure on the rupee,” he added.