PayFast Becomes First Payment Gateway to Launch Raast P2M Services
Islamabad, Pakistan – May 17, 2024 – PayFast, Pakistan’s leading and commercially licensed payment service provider (PSP), has achieved a groundbreaking milestone by becoming the first payment gateway to go live with Raast Person-to-Merchant (P2M) services. This achievement enables PayFast’s partner businesses to accept payments from customers through new, faster, and cost-effective modes, offering significant advantages for both businesses and their customers.
Launched by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) in 2021, Raast is an indigenous, instant payment system designed to facilitate quick, round-the-clock money transfers between bank accounts and financial institutions. Initially, Raast supported Bulk and Peer-to-Peer (P2P) payments. In the first half of 2023, P2P payments saw 33.2 million transactions worth PKR 789.9 billion. This figure soared to 187.8 million transactions valued at PKR 3.96 trillion within the first half of 2024.
The latest phase, P2M, allows consumers to make payments directly to merchants using their Raast ID (IBAN). This development is poised to benefit large-scale businesses, SMEs, and freelancers by enabling them to accept digital payments directly from customers’ bank accounts. The move aligns with the goal of creating a cashless economy, enhancing transparency, and mitigating cash-related risks.
Raast offers numerous benefits to businesses, including instant settlements that eliminate traditional clearing cycle delays, improving cash flow and streamlining operations. It also offers lower transaction fees, which boosts profitability, and enables a faster, more convenient checkout experience, leading to increased customer satisfaction and sales conversions.
PayFast’s Raast P2M Offerings:
- E-Commerce Integration: Raast can be integrated as a payment method alongside existing options such as credit and debit cards, digital wallets, and bank accounts on PayFast Checkout.
- In-Store QR Payments: Businesses can generate dynamic and static QR codes via the PayFast portal, business app, or APIs for quick in-store payments and easy sharing via WhatsApp and email.
- Flexible Payment Requests:
- RTP (Now): Initiate a Request-to-Pay that completes instantly upon validation, ideal for immediate purchases.
- RTP (Later): Create payment links through PayFast with Raast as an option. Customers receive a Request-to-Pay notification through their bank app, allowing them to pay any time before the due date.
Adnan Ali, CEO of PayFast, stated, “PayFast has achieved yet another significant milestone with Raast P2M. We strive to be at the forefront of innovation and, to that end, have developed an in-house tech stack based on the emerging ISO-20022 technology standard to seamlessly integrate with the Raast system. This empowers our partner businesses with new features and services that will play a pivotal role in their growth. We thank the SBP’s Digital Financial Services Group for their continuous support and close collaboration.”
Mr. Arshad Raza, Chairman of Premier Systems, added, “This partnership and achievement strengthen PayFast’s position as a leader in efficient payment solutions that benefit both customers and businesses. Raast P2M will open up new opportunities and access to untapped markets, thereby revolutionizing the digital payments landscape in the country.”
PayFast, a leading Pakistani fintech, allows businesses of all sizes to seamlessly accept online payments. Trusted by over half of the e-commerce industry, PayFast supports a diverse portfolio of over 3,500 businesses, including renowned brands such as Gul Ahmed, Sana Safinaz, Bookme, Elo, and Junaid Jamshed.
