aik by BankIslami, Pakistan’s first Islamic Digital Banking Platform, has partnered with AA Enterprises, which operates under Shalimar Express, to digitise railway ticketing and cargo payment collections across the country. The partnership is aimed at reducing reliance on cash across one of Pakistan’s major transit and logistics networks while expanding the use of digital payments in line with the State Bank of Pakistan’s Go-Cashless national drive.
The partnership was formally inaugurated in Lahore in the presence of senior leadership from BankIslami, aik and AA Enterprises. BankIslami was represented by President and CEO Rizwan Ata, Deputy Chief Executive Officer Imran H Shaikh, Chief Operations Officer Sohail Sikandar, Chief Risk Officer Sajjad Qureshi, Group Head Distribution and Business Banking Kabir Qureshi, Branch Banking Head Central Aasim Salim, General Manager Central I Madieh Khawar, Area Manager Cantt Umair Hassan Khan and Branch Manager Airport Road Basharat Bhatti. aik Digital’s Chief Officer Ashfaque Ahmed and Chief Business Officer Muhammad Ghuffran Abbasi also attended the event, along with AA Enterprises CEO Irfan Ali Bhatti and Chief Executive Shehryar Bhatti and other senior executives.
Under the agreement, aik will deploy Raast QR payment facilities supported by audio Soundboxes across 40 passenger terminals and cargo hubs operated by AA Enterprises nationwide. The deployment is designed to replace physical cash handling with real-time digital transactions, while the Soundboxes will provide immediate voice confirmations when payments are completed. This setup is expected to make payment collection more transparent and convenient for commuters, cargo customers and transport operators.
The move represents an expansion of digital payment infrastructure into Pakistan’s mass transit and freight sectors, where cash has traditionally played a significant role in daily transactions. By introducing Raast QR payments across passenger and cargo locations, the partnership seeks to provide transport users with a digital alternative while enabling operators to receive payment confirmations in real time.
Ashfaque Ahmed, Chief Officer of aik Digital, said digitising mass transit is an important step in Pakistan’s financial evolution. He noted that transport and logistics form a major part of everyday economic activity but have historically depended heavily on physical cash. According to Ahmed, the partnership extends aik’s digital footprint into essential transport corridors and connects traditional operations with modern fintech infrastructure, with financial inclusion as a key objective.
The partnership will also expand beyond QR payment deployment in its next phase. Train ticketing is planned to be added to the aik Digital app, allowing customers to access ticketing services through the digital banking platform. The initiative will also introduce Dynamic QR Codes for instant online payments, further broadening the digital payment options available to users of the Shalimar Express network.
The planned integration of train ticketing into the aik Digital app is expected to bring ticket purchases closer to the wider digital banking ecosystem, while Dynamic QR Codes will provide another channel for customers to complete payments electronically. Together, these developments are intended to support wider cashless adoption across passenger mobility and cargo operations.
The partnership also aligns with BankIslami’s broader focus on ethical and technology-driven digital finance. Through aik, the bank is expanding access to Shariah-compliant digital financial services while targeting sectors where greater use of electronic payments can improve accessibility and reduce dependence on cash.
By extending digital payment services across passenger terminals and cargo hubs, aik and AA Enterprises are seeking to bring more transport and logistics transactions into the formal digital economy. The initiative combines Raast QR payments, audio payment confirmations, digital ticketing and Dynamic QR technology to support a broader shift towards cashless transactions across Pakistan’s mobility and freight networks.
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