By the end of March 2023, almost 30 million people had signed up for the RAAST Payment system.
At the end of March, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said that 29.2 million people had signed up to use RAAST. Up until December 2022, the number was 25.8 million in the last quarter.
According to the SBP’s Payment System Review, from October to December 2022 to January to March 2023, the number of transactions handled through RAAST grew by 92.2 percent, to 41 million, and the value grew by 56 percent, to Rs. 902 billion.
The system handled large payments worth Rs. 29 billion and payments from one person to another worth Rs. People liked this method because they could pay instantly through the Internet and use mobile banking without having to pay extra.
The system went live in February 2022. Since then, the number of users and trades has grown, and the system has already handled more than Rs. 1 trillion.
Read More
MIDCITY Aims to Redefine the Urban Living in Islamabad
Customers can use their registered cell phone number as their Raast ID and link it to their chosen International Bank Account Number (IBAN) using the bank’s mobile app, internet banking, or by going to their bank office.
Once a customer has set her/his mobile phone number as the Raast ID, others can give money to her/him using her/his mobile phone number without needing to know the account name or any other information. Even if they don’t have a Raast ID or would rather use their IBAN, bank customers can still use the Raast service to send or receive money with their IBANs.