Pakistan’s central bank, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), has promised it will issue the country’s first digital currency by 2025.

In response, Pakistan’s Finance Minister Asad Umar has asked SBP and the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to ensure cybersecurity is upheld in the banking system as the country moves toward a more digital economy. Leading local newspaper Dawn noted him as saying that even a single high-profile incident could cause a damaging loss of confidence.

He was speaking at the launch of regulations for Electronic Money Institutions (EMIs), which are non-bank entities licensed by SBP to issue electronic money for digital payments (details of the new EMI regulations reported separately on The Crypto Sight).

SBP’s deputy governor Jameel Ahmad revealed that the central bank is working on a digital currency to promote wider financial inclusivity while cutting inefficiency and reducing corruption. SBP will also “adopt evolving-realities of time”, reported Dawn, and plans for itself to be fully digitized and “technology equipped” by 2030.

Other countries that have also been working on developing national digital currencies include Russia, Ukraine, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia.