Digital P2G payments gain momentum

KARACHI: Person-to-Government (P2G) payments through digital channels are gaining momentum, with 1LINK alone processing around Rs13. 5 trillion in tax and other government payments during 2025. As per industry statistics, the use of digital channels for tax, other government payments and revenue collection in Pakistan is rapidly increasing and people are opting to pay government dues electronically rather than visiting bank counters. Digital payments also enable government collections to be credited to the designated accounts substantially faster. A significant share of these payments is now being processed through 1Bill, a digital bill payment platform operated by 1LINK, which provides payment infrastructure and solutions to financial institutions. READ MORE: All govt-to-person payments to go digital The 1LINK entered its first arrangement with the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) in 2017 and collected roughly Rs 350 million in the first year. Later, it has since widened from tax payments into a broader government collection infrastructure covering duties, fines, fees, licenses and other public-sector obligations. Due to transparency and seamless settlement, an estimate of government savings of around Rs 8. 5 billion was observed with collation of Rs 13. 15 trillion during 2025. Bashir Khan, Chief Merchants, Schemes & Alliances at 1LINK, informed that the shift of government collections from cash and branch-based processes to digital channels had improved convenience for taxpayers while reducing processing time, operational cost and the risks associated with manual collection. To facilitate onboarding, a tripartite framework involving the Ministry of Finance, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and 1LINK was established at both federal and provincial levels. Framework agreements are now operational across the country, including Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu & Kashmir, enabling government departments to join through a simplified accession process and reducing institutional and technical barriers to digitisation. He informed that the expansion of P2Gdigital payment is equally visible in volumes. P2G transactions processed through 1BILL grew from about 1. 2 million in 2019 to 56. 1 million in 2025, a cumulative increase of over 4, 575 percent and an annualised growth rate of roughly 90 percent. Currently, there are 1, 173 government entities and PSEs integrated into 1BILL platform. Overall, there are 5, 342 billers and sub-billers integrated into 1BILL platform. In addition, there are 41 banks, including 22 Conventional Banks, 9 Microfinance Banks, 7 Islamic Banks and 3 Digital Banks offering the service. Khan said the volume growth mattered because it showed digital collection was not merely moving larger payments by existing filers but bringing new individuals and businesses into the formal digital ecosystem and broadening the tax base. The average payment per digital taxpayer stayed within the Rs 225, 000 to Rs 270, 000 range throughout, suggesting adoption has been broad-based rather than driven by a small segment of high-value filers, he added. He said that the taxpayer experience has changed accordingly as digital payments not required to visit a branch, a paper challan, cash or a cheque and a wait for physical processing and reconciliation and now they can now be made payments from anywhere through computer, mobile phone, ATMs, branchless banking agents and other 1BILL-enabled initiators. Khan said digitising national tax collection was aimed not only at convenience but at transparency, stronger controls and the elimination of systemic loopholes; transaction-level data also supports better monitoring, forecasting and policy analysis. “The scale of growth in digital tax payments demonstrates that taxpayers are increasingly embracing convenient, secure and readily accessible digital channels for fulfilling their civic obligations, ” he said. However, he said significant potential remains among semi-government, autonomous and public-sector entities that have yet to migrate to digital payment channels. “The objective is not simply to replace cash with digital payments. The larger objective is to build an integrated, transparent and efficient government collection ecosystem where payments, settlement, reconciliation and information are digitally connected, ” Khan said. He informed that the federal government is also seriously working to promote digital payments and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif continues to chair regular progress meetings on the digital economy, reviewing measures to digitize government transactions and clear administrative bottlenecks. Copyright Business Recorder, 2026

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