NITB seeks one bank or fintech to run every government payment, from taxes to licences
A new request for proposals would put cards, QR, interbank transfers, agents and Raast behind a single provider, with settlement going straight to accounts NITB names.
Pakistan's government wants one bank or fintech to collect everything citizens pay it online, from utility bills and taxes to licence, certificate and application fees. The National Information Technology Board has issued a request for proposals for a single digital payment system to do it.
One provider would connect government platforms to several payment channels: debit and credit cards, QR payments, interbank funds transfers, branchless banking agents, Request to Pay and Raast, the State Bank of Pakistan's instant payment system.
What the winner must deliver
The system must confirm payments in real time, reconcile them automatically and process them securely. Money must settle directly into accounts that NITB identifies, and the provider may not hold it in settlement accounts of its own. The provider must also supply reporting dashboards, refunds, dispute and chargeback handling, round the clock availability, technical support and training for NITB staff.
Security terms are specific. The tender asks for multi factor authentication, encryption, fraud detection and monitoring for money laundering and terrorism financing. All transaction data must be hosted in Pakistan, and the provider must run periodic vulnerability assessments and penetration tests.
Who can bid
Bids are open only to scheduled banks and to fintechs registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan and licensed by the State Bank. Bidders need at least five years of experience in online payment integration or digital banking, integrations with at least five major clients, a valid PCI DSS certificate, ISO 27001 or an equivalent information security certificate, and an active or committed Raast integration.
The process is single stage with two envelopes, and financial proposals are opened only for bidders that clear the technical stage. At the financial stage the tender favours lower transaction charges for citizens and a higher revenue share for NITB. Both draw on the same fees, and the tender does not say how they are weighted.
The tender follows a push on the payout side. A Finance Ministry document submitted to the National Assembly says Rs1.247 trillion of the Rs1.669 trillion allocated to a group of self accounting government entities, 75 percent, has been paid through digital and Raast based channels, and that the government is on track to digitise public sector payments fully by December 2026. Collections, the money citizens pay in, are the other half of that plan.
The tender sets no implementation timeline, target number of users or projected transaction volumes, and it does not say which services would move first or how many government platforms are covered.
