迈向经济繁荣之路

Cashless:AJourneyTowardEconomicProsperity–WhereMoneyMoves,NotCash November 2025home.kpmg/pk Theriseofdigitaleconomyatbreakneckspeed Digital Payments and Cashless Transitionis the key to enable a digital ecosystem. At the heart of every digital ecosystem lies a robust and interoperablepayments network connecting banks, fintechs, governments, merchants, andcitizens. Over the past decade, societies around the world have witnessed arapid transformation in the way money moves. The rise of mobile banking,digital wallets, and instant payment systems have reshaped how individuals The digital economyis rapidly reshaping the world around us. The digitaleconomy is the sum of all economic activity driven by billions of daily digitalinteractions among people, businesses, devices, data, and systems. At itscore lies hyperconnectivity; the ever-growing interlinkage of individuals,organizations, and machines through the internet, mobile technologies, and As digital transformation accelerates globally, traditional business models arebeing reimagined. Companies like Uber, Facebook, Alibaba, and Airbnb havedisrupted entire industries, not by owning physical assets, but by leveraging As digital payments become more common, societies are gradually movingaway from cash, a shift that has far-reaching implications: it affects financialinclusion, data privacy, taxation, monetary policy, and even how trust is built in Digital Economy vs. Cashless The digital economy refers a full spectrum of economic activityenabled by digital technologies including data, platforms, andintelligent systems, whereas a cashless economy refers to an Understanding what it means to be cashless and what thattransition entails is therefore critical for policymakers,businesses, and citizens alike. ІIn the world’s lowest-cash markets,regulation and consumer habits havestabilized cash use, with onlyincremental declines expected through ІIn mature markets, cash has alreadybottomed out at single-digit shares, withonly marginal declines ahead. Growth islargely tapped out, leaving cash in a ІIn emerging markets, cash usage hassharply declined since 2014, however,cultural habits & underbanked citizenssustain cash reliance. Forecasts still In this publication, we explore the evolution of the cashlesseconomy in Pakistan, examining its current landscape,challenges, and opportunities, while drawing global insights to Source: Global Payments Report 2025& World Bank Global Findex 2025 Globalcashlesseconomymatrix Countries were assessed across two dimensions —Digital Infrastructure (connectivity, financial systemreadiness, and payment networks) and Consumer Cashless Leaders demonstrate mature infrastructure,high merchant acceptance, and near-universal relianceon digital payments across daily transactions.Under-adopted digital markets possess strongtechnological and banking systems, yet deep-rooted cashpreferences and privacy concerns continue to temperadoption. Inclusion-driven innovators have achieved Countries around theworldarestrivingtomovetowardsacashless economy Different countries have followed unique paths toward cashless adoption, shaped by their infrastructure, policies, andconsumer behavior, illustrating that there is no single pathway to building a digital economy. India – Public Digital Infrastructure as a Catalyst Sweden – A Society Beyond Cash Sweden is recognized as a leading example of a cashlesseconomy, driven by financial institutions, government policy,and robust digital infrastructure. The transition began in the1990s and accelerated in the 2000s, driven by a strong India’s success is rooted in a comprehensive public digitalinfrastructure that combines identity, payments, and financialaccess. The Aadhaar digital identity system, Jan Dhanaccount initiative, and the introduction of the Unified The introduction of Swish in 2012, an instant mobilepayment app, propelled digital payment usage, achievingover 90% adoption within a decade. Currently, cashaccounts for less than 10% of transactions. Riksbank’s e- Policy-driven initiatives like demonetization and transactionincentives accelerated adoption, with UPI now handling over10 billion monthly transactions. Digital payments are near-universal in urban India and expanding rapidly across rural Ghana – Building Interoperability and Trust China – A Platform Driven Revolution Ghana’s “Cash-Lite Agenda” demonstrates the value ofinteroperability in emerging economies. The GhanaInterbank Payment and Settlement Systems (GhIPSS)created a bridge between banks and mobile moneyoperators, while the e-zwich smartcard and agent networkenabled wider participation in the formal economy. China’s digital payments landscape was transformedthrough an ecosystem-led innovation. Technology giantssuch as Alibaba and Tencent embedded payments within China’s digital payments exceed USD 60 trillion annually,with digital wallets accounting for over 90% of urbantransactions. This success is owed to the regul