The central bank of Pakistan is taking the program of making electronic payments through Eid-ul-Azha from 54 markets to 123 markets, where there are 481,000 transactions of Rs34 billion worth compared to only Rs4.6 billion worth in 2025, along with opening 12,500 new bank accounts.
ISLAMABAD: The cattle markets of Pakistan are some of the most cash-driven places in the country. However, the Go Cashless 2026 campaign of the State Bank of Pakistan saw them go digital in unprecedented numbers. In total, there were 481,000 transactions valued at over Rs 34 billion in 123 cattle markets during the Eid ul Azha period, registering a sevenfold increase from last year.
Scaling up the SBP Go Cashless 2026 campaign
SBP Go Cashless 2026 was based on the work carried out during two years prior to 2026. With experience gained from the pilot in 2024 and improvements made in 2025, SBP took a big step forward in 2026 by increasing the number of cattle markets from 54 in 2025 to 123 across the country. Twenty-two involved banks created camps and kiosks within their assigned markets where they enrolled cattle vendors, carriers, and other service providers digitally using real-time biometric scanning.
Moreover, SBP utilized Mobile Banking Vans that had their ATM machines along with cash counters and Cash Deposit Machines. With such facilities available for transactions, any merchant having extra cash could deposit the money directly into the bank from the market itself, instead of having to go to their bank branches themselves.
The enhancement of transaction limits facilitated high-value transactions
Realizing that cattle sales carry transaction amounts much larger than usual retail transactions, SBP made some improvements in digital transaction amounts from May 14 to June 5, 2026. This was an essential step because it eliminated a systemic challenge, whereby customers with high-value transactions had no choice but to switch to cash despite having the technological infrastructure in place. Based on the data collected during the Go Cashless campaign, these enhanced transaction amounts helped in realizing the total amount of Rs34 billion.
Massive Awareness Campaign Ensured Maximum Adoption
The SBP ‘Go Cashless 2026’ campaign was not built on the strength of just its technology infrastructure. The SBP undertook an extensive awareness and outreach program that used television, radio, newspapers, and social media, complemented by the efforts carried out through the campaigns being run by the participating banks. Constant SBP staff in each market sorted out any technical snags, ensuring that nothing came to hinder users’ adoption of the new system, something which the previous campaigns failed to do.
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12,500 new accounts the legacy of the program
Apart from the numbers of transactions made, SBP Go Cashless achieved an enduring legacy that does not belong to the Eid season: creation of 12,500 new bank accounts for the cattle farmers and their service partners. These accounts translate to financially included participants carrying access to digital banking services even when the cattle markets are out of session.
Implications for Pakistan’s future in digital payments
From the SBP Go Cashless Campaign 2026, it is evident that even those industries which have always been cash-dependent and conservative will adopt digitalization quickly when all the elements such as infrastructural, regulatory, and awareness support are combined at once. The seven times increase in transactions in just one year in a highly complex payment ecosystem becomes a blueprint for future initiatives in sectors like agriculture and wholesale commerce.
