National ID cards upgrade will allow international, domestic money transfers

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani citizens will be able to use their national identity cards (CNICs) to carry out financial transactions and receive government disbursements. This was announced at World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2017 taking place between January 17 and 20 in Davos, Switzerland.

The move has been made possible as Mastercard, a leading global payments and technology company, has announced a strategic collaboration with National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) Technologies Limited, a subsidiary of the authority. 

While speaking at the meeting, Mastercard Country Manager for Pakistan and Afghanistan Aurangzaib Khan said the collaboration with NADRA Technologies Limited is a testament to their commitment towards building a secure ecosystem for online payments in Pakistan.   

The new service will make international remittances more convenient for both, the sender and beneficiary. This is significant since Pakistan is one of the top receivers of remittances from abroad. 

Citizens will be able to use their national identity card digits to send and receive domestic and international remittances, eliminating the requirement to physically visit a bank branch or currency exchange house to transfer money.  

Under the terms of the agreement, Mastercard will also use its next-generation payment processing technologies to process all online payments made by Pakistani citizens for the issuance of national identity cards, passports or any other document provisioned by NADRA Technologies Limited.