State Bank of Pakistan Governor Jameel Ahmed recently announced that Pakistan has reached a significant milestone by enabling cross-border payments in Pakistani rupees between Pakistan and Arab countries. This has been achieved by integrating the country's Raast instant payment system with the Buna platform of the Arab Monetary Fund. Moreover, Pakistan's central bank is working towards allowing e-wallet holders in the country to make direct payments in China via online banking, as part of its broader initiative to enhance regional financial connectivity and promote digitalization. The SBP also unveiled plans to launch the third National Financial Inclusion Strategy (NFIS) 2028 during the fiscal year 2024-25. This strategy aims to expand banking services to 75% of the adult population, up from the current 60%, with the goal that by 2028, 25% of these users will be women. Raast is Pakistan's first instant payment platform which enables end-to-end digital payments between individuals, businesses and government