BankIslami Launches Pakistan’s First Shariah-Compliant Raast QR Payment Gateway

Pakistan’s first digital Islamic banking platform, ‘aik’ by BankIslami, has launched aikPay— Pakistan’s first Shariah-compliant Raast-enabled QR Payment Gateway. Built on the State Bank of Pakistan’s Raast infrastructure, aikPay enables real-time online payments through dynamic QR codes, allowing customers to pay instantly from their bank accounts and enabling merchants to receive payments securely through a smooth checkout experience.

The launch follows an engagement session led by aik with representatives from the State Bank of Pakistan and Raast.The session was attended by Muhammad Imaduddin, Director of Digital Innovations & Settlement at SBP, and Ahson bin Saeed, CEO of Raast Payments Pakistan, along with Sohail Sikandar, Chief Operations Officer of BankIslami, Ashfaque Ahmed, Chief Officer of aik, and other team members.

Ashfaque Ahmed, Chief Officer of aik, commented: “The world is shifting rapidly with technology, and digital payments have become an everyday habit. At aik, we remain steadfast in our mission to promote Riba-free digital banking and support Pakistan’s national direction towards a digital economy by offering innovative solutions that make everyday transactions smoother, faster, and more seamless.”

With aikPay, customers can shop and pay online with greater ease using any Raast-enabled mobile banking app, with instant transaction confirmation and a card-free checkout experience. Merchants benefit from a wider nationwide reach through Raast interoperability, real-time payment confirmation, instant settlement for improved liquidity, and low-cost payment acceptance through competitive MDR rates, making it a scalable solution for SMEs, online businesses, institutions, and government entities.