Pakistan Considering Digital Currency Adoption, Says Aurangzeb

Pakistan is considering the possibility of introducing digital currency within its borders, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said during a session of the World Economic Forum (WEF) on Sunday.

Speaking at the event, Aurangzeb briefly discussed Pakistan’s baby steps towards potentially adopting digital currency.

Separately, Aurangzeb said the government was committed to assisting impoverished women across the country. Furthermore, he brought up a prevalent issue where women often fell victim to cash theft by their family members and advocated for digital wallet solutions to help them.

It bears mentioning that the idea of incorporating digital currency was floated by State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Governor Jameel Ahmad at a Senate panel meeting in July 2023. Jameel had said SBP was working to launch its own Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC).

The SBP governor said at the time that the regulator was reviewing work done by other central banks to launch its own CBDC.