Has Pakistan launched a digital rupee? A claim with no source
A Pakistani website says the State Bank has started piloting a wholesale digital rupee with five big banks. It cites no document, and we could find no announcement. Here is what the State Bank has actually said.
Key takeaways
- A 9 September article on nextgen.pk says the State Bank has launched a wholesale digital rupee pilot with HBL, Meezan, Bank Alfalah and MCB. It cites no source.
- We found no State Bank announcement of a launch in the sources we could check, and no report of one in Dawn, Business Recorder or the Express Tribune.
- On the record: in July 2025 the governor said the bank planned a pilot, and in August 2025 a Japan-funded retail pilot with Soramitsu was reported for "later this year".
- A central bank digital currency is not crypto, and it would not be something you can buy on an exchange.
The claim
On 9 September 2026, nextgen.pk published an article headlined "SBP Launches National Digital Asset Custody Framework & Wholesale Digital Rupee (CBDC) Pilot with Commercial Banks". It says the State Bank "has formally rolled out the operational pilot", built with the Japanese firm Soramitsu and linked to the Raast payment system, with HBL, Meezan Bank, Bank Alfalah and MCB taking part. It gives technical details, including a capacity of more than 25,000 transactions a second, and says the project operates under the "statutory oversight" of PVARA.
The article carries no byline beyond a "Fintech & Regulatory Policy Desk". It names no State Bank circular, press release or official, and quotes no one.
Our verdict: unsupported
We can't prove that no pilot exists. What we can say is that nothing we could check supports the claim that one was launched.
| What we checked | What it shows |
|---|---|
| The nextgen.pk article | No source of any kind |
| Archived State Bank press releases for 2026 | Nothing on a digital currency or a pilot. The archive is incomplete after April |
| Pakistani business press: Dawn, Business Recorder, Express Tribune | No report of a launch |
| Bank announcements | None from HBL, Meezan, Bank Alfalah or MCB that we found |
One limit we should state plainly: the State Bank's website blocks automated access, so we relied on archived copies of its pages rather than reading its live press-release list. If the bank has announced a pilot there, tell us and we will correct this article.
The PVARA detail is a further reason for caution. A central bank's own currency would be the State Bank's project. The article gives no basis for placing it under the crypto regulator.
What the State Bank has actually said
A pilot has been promised, and it is still pending.
In July 2025, Governor Jameel Ahmad told the Reuters NEXT Asia summit that the bank "plans to launch a pilot for a digital currency", Dawn reported. He said the bank was "building up our capacity on the central bank digital currency" and was "in touch with some tech partners". He gave no date.
In August 2025, the State Bank's partnership with Soramitsu was reported by Profit. That pilot was described as funded by Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, aimed at retail users, and able to work offline on smartphones. It was due "later this year", meaning 2025.
That is a different project from the one nextgen.pk describes. The 2025 plan was a retail digital rupee for ordinary people. The September 2026 article describes a wholesale system for banks to settle with each other. In the sources we checked, we found no account of the 2025 retail pilot having launched either.
What this means for Pakistani users
- There is no digital rupee you can use or buy. Any app, token or exchange listing that claims to sell you "the State Bank's digital rupee" is not selling you anything the State Bank has issued.
- A central bank digital currency is not crypto. It would be ordinary rupees in digital form, issued by the State Bank, not a token traded against the rupee. We explained what PVARA does and doesn't regulate.
- Check the source before sharing. A detailed article with technical specifications is not the same as an announcement. Look for a State Bank circular or press release.
What we're watching
- Any State Bank announcement of a digital currency pilot, retail or wholesale. If one appears, we will report it and update this page.
- A response from nextgen.pk on where its information came from. We will add it if we get one.
- Whether a rupee-linked stablecoin, which is a separate idea, moves forward under PVARA's token issuance rules.
Sources
- nextgen.pk, "SBP Launches National Digital Asset Custody Framework & Wholesale Digital Rupee (CBDC) Pilot with Commercial Banks", 9 September 2026.
- Dawn, "SBP to launch pilot for digital currency, says governor", 9 July 2025.
- Profit, "SBP partners with Soramitsu to pilot digital Pakistani rupee in 2025", 12 August 2025.
- State Bank of Pakistan, press releases, checked through archived copies on 2 October 2026.
