KARACHI: PayFast, Pakistan’s leading payment gateway, on Friday marked eight years of operations with the launch of Rah-e-Raast, a doorstep QR-based payment solution aimed at reducing reliance on cash and promoting digital payments at the point of delivery.
The launch ceremony was held here at the National Aerospace Science and Technology Park (NASTP) and was attended by Executive Director of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), Sohail Jawad, Group Head of DFS Projects at Karandaaz Pakistan, Taimur Ali, as well as industry leaders, merchants and ecosystem partners.
According to PayFast, Rah-e-Raast has been designed to enable QR payments at the last mile, particularly during deliveries, where cash transactions have traditionally dominated. The initiative is expected to support businesses by improving payment convenience, transparency and reconciliation.
PayFast has completed eight years of enabling secure and scalable digital transactions, supporting thousands of merchants across e-commerce, retail and services, and contributing to Pakistan’s transition towards a cashless economy, the news release said.
The company highlighted its broader digital payments portfolio, which includes Raast rails, QR acceptance, Google Pay, payment links, invoicing solutions, checkout tools and its payment gateway. PayFast operates under Premier Systems Limited (Premier Systems Group).
The Rah-e-Raast initiative has been launched in collaboration with Unity Retail and SLG Trax, reflecting an ecosystem-led approach to digitising last-mile commerce. The programme is aligned with the government’s push for digital payments and also features collaboration with Karandaaz Pakistan to expand QR deployment nationwide, the release added.
Addressing the event, SBP Executive Director Sohail Jawad said industry collaboration was vital for strengthening digital payment adoption, particularly for real-world use cases such as doorstep deliveries.
Karandaaz Pakistan’s Taimur Ali said scaling QR acceptance was essential to making digital payments part of everyday commerce and reducing dependence on cash.
As part of the ceremony, PayFast recognised long-standing brand partners, including Sana Safinaz, Ticketwala, GulAhmed and K-Electric, as well as ecosystem and payment partners such as Easypaisa, JazzCash, Faysal Bank and Bank Alfalah.
PayFast Chief Executive Officer Adnan Ali said the company remained focused on simplifying payment acceptance for businesses and enabling the digitisation of everyday transactions, particularly at the last mile.
The programme concluded with a panel discussion on the future of digital payments and e-commerce in Pakistan, moderated by PayFast Chief Business Officer Mahwish Saad Khan, with participants from PayFast, Karandaaz, Unity Retail and the retail sector.
