Government Pushes to Make Islamabad a Fully Digital Payment City by 2027

The government has set December 31 as the deadline to make Islamabad Pakistan’s first fully cashless city. After November 30, no department of the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) administration or the Capital Development Authority (CDA) will accept cash. About 26,000 merchants are already connected to digital payments. The government wants all merchants in the capital on board by December 31.

State Minister for Interior Talal Chaudhry announced the plan after a meeting on the Cashless Capital project in Islamabad on Friday, November 13. The Ministry of Interior shared the details in a statement on X.

CDA Chairman Sohail Ashraf, banking sector representatives, and senior officials also attended. Chaudhry said work is moving fast on instructions from Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi. He said Naqvi had promised the prime minister that Islamabad would become Pakistan’s first cashless city and the world’s first cashless capital.

From December 1, cash will not be accepted at ICT or CDA offices. Official transactions will go through digital channels instead.

For shops and businesses, the target is to bring every merchant in Islamabad into the digital system by December 31. Chaudhry said digital payment facilities will reach every level, from street vendors to major business centres. Reports of the meeting do not say which payment methods will be accepted. They also do not say whether merchants who miss the deadline will face any penalty.