Passport • Government Services

Pakistan Has Changed How You Pay Passport Fees. From Now On, You Must Scan the Raast QR Code. IBFT, IBAN and PSID Payments Will Not Be Accepted

By Life in Pakistan Editorial

13 September 2026

The Directorate General of Immigration and Passports (DGIP) has rolled out a new payment method for passport fees. From now on, applicants must pay their passport fees by scanning the designated Raast QR code at the passport office, using any participating bank’s mobile banking app. IBFT and IBAN-based transfers, and the Passport Fee Asaan PSID-based payment, will no longer be accepted. The change is part of the federal government’s Cashless Pakistan agenda and is designed to link the fee directly to the passport application in real time, eliminating the manual reconciliation that delayed processing under the old system. National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) has formally enabled the new Raast Person-to-Merchant (P2M) QR-based fee collection across passport offices.

What has changed

The change is a payment-method change, not a fee change. The official passport fees remain the same. The change is in how the fee is delivered to DGIP, and how the payment is linked to the passport application.

Under the new arrangement, applicants must scan the designated Raast QR code displayed at the passport office counter and pay the fee from their mobile banking app. The fee is received by DGIP in real time, and the payment is automatically linked to the applicant’s passport file using the QR code’s reference number.

Under the old arrangement, applicants could pay through IBFT or IBAN transfer to the DGIP account, or through the Passport Fee Asaan system, which generated a PSID reference for the payment. Both routes required manual reconciliation by DGIP staff to link the payment to the applicant’s file. The new Raast QR method eliminates the manual reconciliation step and is designed to be faster, more transparent, and less prone to error or fraud.

What is Raast

Raast is Pakistan’s instant payment system, operated by the State Bank of Pakistan. It enables individuals, businesses, and government entities to send and receive payments in real time, using standard identifiers like mobile numbers, CNIC, or QR codes. The Raast Person-to-Merchant (P2M) QR standard is the consumer-facing arm of Raast, designed for in-person payments at retail and government counters.

Raast is supported by virtually all major Pakistani banks through their mobile banking apps. The list of participating banks includes HBL, UBL, MCB, NBP, Meezan, Bank Alfalah, Bank Islami, Allied Bank, Askari Bank, Faysal Bank, Standard Chartered, Habib Metro, Soneri Bank, Bank of Punjab, Bank of Khyber, JS Bank, Silk Bank, and Summit Bank. The full list is maintained on the SBP website.

How to pay the new way

For applicants, the new payment process is straightforward. The steps are:

• Step 1: Visit the passport office and complete the application and biometric verification at the counter as usual.
• Step 2: At the payment counter, ask the staff to display the Raast QR code for passport fee payment.
• Step 3: Open your bank’s mobile banking app on your phone. Make sure you have the latest version installed.
• Step 4: Tap the Raast / P2M option in the app, scan the QR code displayed at the counter.
• Step 5: The fee amount is auto-filled from the QR code. Confirm the amount, enter your PIN, and submit.
• Step 6: The app will show a confirmation screen with a transaction reference number. Show this to the counter staff.

The transaction is processed in real time, and the counter staff will receive a confirmation on their terminal that the payment has been received by DGIP. The applicant then proceeds with the rest of the application process. The fee is non-refundable and non-transferable from one applicant to another, in line with the existing DGIP policy.

What is not accepted anymore

DGIP has issued an advisory specifying that the following payment methods will not be accepted for passport fees:

• IBFT (Inter-Bank Funds Transfer) by IBAN: Direct bank-to-bank transfers to the DGIP IBAN will not be accepted. Payments sent this way will not be linked to the application.
• PSID-based payments through Passport Fee Asaan: The PSID (Payment System ID) generated by the Passport Fee Asaan app will not be accepted as a payment reference.
• Cash payments at the counter: Cash payments to the counter staff are not part of the new system and will not be accepted.

Applicants who have already paid through the old methods in advance of the change may need to follow up with the passport office to have those payments reconciled manually. DGIP has not yet published a formal procedure for handling previously paid fees, but the director general has directed passport offices to support applicants through the transition.

What to bring with you

For applicants, the practical implication of the change is that they need a mobile banking app on their phone to pay the fee. If you do not have a mobile banking app, you will need to either install one before your visit, or pay through a family member or friend’s app at the counter.

The items to bring to the passport office remain the same as before: the original documents required for your application category, the printed or digital application form, the biometrics confirmation, and your CNIC or NICOP. The only addition is that you must have a mobile banking app installed and logged in on your phone before you reach the payment counter.

For applicants who do not have a smartphone, the passport office will have a dedicated counter with a staff member who can guide you through the QR-code scan on the applicant’s behalf. The DGIP advisory specifically directs passport offices to support applicants through the transition.

Why the change was made

The change is part of the federal government’s Cashless Pakistan agenda, which seeks to expand digital payments and accelerate the digitisation of government receipts. The DGIP change is one of the most visible components of that agenda, because passport fee collection is a high-volume, high-frequency government payment that touches a wide cross-section of the population.

Under the old IBFT and PSID-based system, the DGIP had to manually reconcile each payment to the applicant’s file. The manual reconciliation step was a major source of delay in passport processing, and was also a target for fraud. The new Raast QR method eliminates the reconciliation step because the QR code already contains the reference number for the application.

The State Bank of Pakistan has welcomed the move, and NBP has led the bank-side implementation. Other banks are expected to follow NBP’s lead in the coming weeks, although all major banks already support Raast P2M QR through their mobile apps.

What to do if your old payment was not accepted

For applicants who paid through the old IBFT or PSID-based methods in advance of the change, the practical guidance is to bring the original payment receipt to the passport office and ask the staff to manually link the payment to the application. The DGIP has directed passport offices to handle these cases on a case-by-case basis.

If the passport office cannot resolve the issue, the applicant can contact the DGIP helpline listed on the official DGIP website. The DGIP has also said that applicants seeking clarification should consult the website or contact the official helpline before making any payment under the new system.

The bottom line

The DGIP has changed the way passport fees are paid. From now on, applicants must scan the designated Raast QR code at the passport office counter and pay the fee through their bank’s mobile banking app. The IBFT and PSID-based methods are no longer accepted. The fee amount has not changed. The change is designed to link the fee to the application in real time and to eliminate the manual reconciliation that delayed processing under the old system. The transition is being supported by passport office staff on the ground.