JazzCash Expands Raast Network To 1.7m Merchants.
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JazzCash has announced a major milestone in Pakistan's digital finance landscape by onboarding 1.7 million merchants onto the State Bank of Pakistan’s Raast interoperable QR payment network. This achievement nearly doubles the fintech's merchant ecosystem in just six months, scaling up from approximately 900,000 in January to reach the 1.7 million mark by July 2026, with an ambitious target of hitting 2 million merchants by year-end. According to Chief Product Officer Aamir Aftab, these digitized merchants are currently processing close to Rs150 billion per month in QR transactions, encompassing a diverse array of small businesses such as kiryana stores, beauty salons, and home-based enterprises that previously lacked digital payment infrastructure.Crucially, JazzCash’s QR footprint is now roughly eight times larger than Pakistan’s traditional network of under 200,000 active card POS terminals, offering retailers a cost-effective, frictionless avenue for electronic payments.
JazzCash has onboarded 1.7 million merchants onto the State Bank of Pakistan’s Raast interoperable QR payment network, nearly doubling its merchant base in six months as the country accelerates its transition towards a cashless economy.
The network expanded from around 900,000 merchants in January to 1.7 million by July 2026. JazzCash is targeting 2 million digital merchants by the end of 2026, according to Chief Product Officer Aamir Aftab.
The merchants now process close to Rs150 billion per month in QR payments. The network is being used by a wide range of small businesses, including kiryana stores, beauty salons and home-based businesses, many of which previously had no digital payment infrastructure.
JazzCash’s QR network is now around eight times larger than Pakistan’s fewer than 200,000 card terminals, providing smaller retailers with a lower-cost route to accepting digital payments without requiring traditional point-of-sale machines.
The expansion is also linked to the government’s broader Cashless Pakistan initiative, which aims to increase digital transactions, improve transparency and bring informal economic activity into the documented financial system. Government data showed active digital-payment merchants had already crossed 2 million by July 2026.
Aamir Aftab said the significance extends beyond payments because merchants who previously had no documented business history can begin creating a financial record, potentially improving their future access to credit, insurance and investment products.
JazzCash is also working with the Ministry of Finance on enabling users to invest directly in government Treasury bills through its app, while its planned JazzCash Bazar marketplace aims to give small merchants digital storefronts without requiring their own websites
