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Business Recorder
6 days ago
- Business
- Business Recorder
Quarterly Payments Systems Review report
EDITORIAL: The State Bank of Pakistan's Quarterly (January-March) Payments System Review report — bafflingly limited to just three months, at best described as extremely short term — has revealed some disturbing though not surprising data: 89 percent of Pakistan's retail payments are conducted through digital channels but represent merely 29 percent of the value of total transactions; and paper-based and over-the-counter (OTC) payments processed through bank branches and branchless banking agents account for only 11 percent of total volume and 71 percent of total value. This discrepancy can partly be explained by the informal economy which is projected at around 50 percent of the formal economy — a projection at best given that quantifying that which is outside the purview of the government statistical machinery is a challenging task at best. The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), in its indefatigable quest to generate more total revenue each year, focuses on the revenue it could generate if the informal economy is brought into the tax net yet one must not lose sight of the fact that the informal sector provides employment opportunities to hundreds of thousands of Pakistanis who, if left to the formal sector, could not be accommodated. The SBP report noted that Raast (instant payment system processed 371 million transactions worth 8.5 trillion rupees during January-March 2025) and RTGS (real time gross settlement system handled 1.5 million transactions amounting to 347 trillion rupees) have been instrumental in accelerating digital payments. These numbers are impressive; however, it would have been useful to identify how many of these transactions were carried out by the informal sector. Hernando de Soto maintained that in countries where the informal sector is sizeable macroeconomic data can never be reliable because the informal economy has a strong preference to using paper-based or cash for transactions. And added credibly that the informal sector gives birth to a situation whereby the influence of informal activities in an economy can only be measured through indirect means with a long information delay. Be that as it may, the reason behind the greater use of paper- or cash-based transactions in Pakistan's case is not only due to low levels of literacy but also due to rampant digital fraud that is reported in the media attributable to insufficient investment in digital security. Two recent rather disturbing cases of digital fraud relate to the pensioners and the vulnerable recipients of Kifaalat, the Benazir Income Support Programme's (BISP's) quarterly cash disbursements. At present, BISP beneficiaries who report fraud complain that FIA does not proactively investigate as sums involved are very small; however, this leakage can be plugged if the government invests appropriate amounts in not only education but also in providing security in digital payments. And, needless to add, the rather frequent cessation of internet services in Pakistan, ostensibly for security reasons, compromises the reliability of the use of digital services that requires an urgent revisit. To conclude, while the digital imprint on transactions within Pakistan is certainly rising yet there is a need to take other measures in order to ensure that it is strengthened with time — measures that must include dealing with security concerns, by not through shutting down the internet which has also had disastrous consequences on those who run their business on the net, but through law enforcement agencies. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Chicago Tribune
08-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
Today in History: Coca-Cola first sold
Today is Thursday, May 8, the 128th day of 2025. There are 237 days left in the year. Today in history: On May 8, 1886, the first serving of Coca-Cola, which contained cocaine, was sold at a pharmacy in Atlanta, Georgia. (The drink became fully cocaine-free in 1929.) Also on this date: In 1541, Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto reached the Mississippi River, the first recorded European to do so. In 1846, U.S. forces led by Gen. Zachary Taylor defeated Mexican forces near modern-day Brownsville, Texas, in the first major battle of the Mexican-American War. In 1945, President Harry S. Truman announced in a radio address that Nazi Germany's forces had surrendered, stating that 'the flags of freedom fly all over Europe' on V-E (Victory in Europe) Day. In 1973, members of the American Indian Movement and the Oglala Lakota tribe, who had occupied the South Dakota hamlet of Wounded Knee for 10 weeks, surrendered to federal authorities. In 1978, David R. Berkowitz pleaded guilty in a Brooklyn courtroom to murder, attempted murder and assault in connection with the 'Son of Sam' shootings that claimed six lives and terrified New Yorkers. (Berkowitz was sentenced to six consecutive life prison terms.) In 1984, the Soviet Union announced it would boycott the upcoming Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles. In 2020, U.S. unemployment surged to 14.7%, a level last seen when the country was in the throes of the Great Depression; the government reported that more than 20 million Americans had lost their jobs in April amid the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. Today's Birthdays: Biologist/TV presenter David Attenborough is 99. Poet Gary Snyder is 95. Singer Toni Tennille is 85. Pianist Keith Jarrett is 80. Singer Philip Bailey (Earth, Wind and Fire) is 74. Rock musician Chris Frantz (Talking Heads) is 74. Rock musician Alex Van Halen is 72. Football Hall of Fame coach Bill Cowher is 68. Football Hall of Famer Ronnie Lott is 66. Filmmaker Michel Gondry is 62. Actor Melissa Gilbert is 61. Singer Enrique Iglesias is 50. Musician Joe Bonamassa is 48. Actor Domhnall Gleeson is 42.
