Women queued outside BISP offices in Haripur and Abbottabad on Saturday, not for their usual stipend, but to hear directly from the head of the programme itself. Senator Rubina Khalid, Chairperson of the Benazir Income Support Programme, arrived at both district offices to walk beneficiaries through a system that is quietly replacing the cash counters many of them have relied on for years.
Accompanying her was Member of the Provincial Assembly Meher Sultana Advocate, along with a group of local women leaders who have been helping BISP coordinate outreach in the Hazara region.
The Haripur office, beneficiaries crowded around as the Chairperson explained, in plain terms, what would change for them going forward. She said, would no longer be handed over as cash at a counter. Instead, the money would land directly in a digital wallet tied to their own mobile number. A text message would confirm the deposit. When they chose to withdraw at any authorized retailer, on their own schedule a second message would follow, spelling out exactly how much had left their account.
For many of the women present, the appeal of this was not abstract. It meant an end to the long waits, and to the quiet deductions some had learned to expect at payment points over the years. Senator Khalid acknowledged as much, telling beneficiaries that the built-in SMS trail was designed precisely to close that loophole to make it harder for anyone to skim off a share of a payment that is not theirs.
But the system comes with its own set of rules, and the Chairperson was direct about them. The free Benazir SIM, must be collected only from an official BISP office not from a shop, not from an agent claiming to offer a shortcut. Beneficiaries need to bring their original CNIC and their own phone when they go to collect it, since the SIM is fitted on the spot by BISP staff.
She lingered on one point in particular: beneficiaries should never hand their phone to anyone during the payment process, whether an agent, a retailer, or anyone else offering to “help.” It was a warning delivered plainly, aimed at a specific and recurring problem women losing control of their SIM, and with it, control over their own payment.
Here is a quick look at what beneficiaries were told during the briefing:
| What Changes | Details Shared by the Chairperson |
|---|---|
| Payment method | Cash at counters replaced by direct deposit into a digital wallet |
| Deposit confirmation | SMS sent as soon as funds are credited |
| Withdrawal | Can be done anytime, from any authorized retailer |
| Withdrawal confirmation | Second SMS with exact withdrawn amount |
| SIM collection | Only from official BISP offices, with original CNIC and personal phone |
| Phone/SIM handling | Must never be handed to agents or retailers |
| Complaint reporting | Immediately via BISP office or complaint management system |
There was also a practical reassurance built into her briefing. Because the new system is interoperable across partner banks, beneficiaries are not locked into one shop or one location the way they were under the old cash model. A woman in a far corner of Abbottabad district no longer has to travel to a single designated point. she can withdraw from any authorized retailer connected to the network.
By the time the visit shifted to Abbottabad, the tone had settled into something more like a checklist repeated for emphasis: keep your SIM secure, do not accept unauthorized deductions, and if something does go wrong, report it immediately either at a BISP office or through the programme complaint management system.
Before leaving, Senator Khalid turned to her own staff. She told officials at both offices that beneficiaries were to be given whatever guidance and support they needed, with no woman left to navigate the new system.
For beneficiaries across Haripur and Abbottabad now holding freshly issued Benazir SIMs, the shift marks the start of a payment process that looks very different from the one they have known one built, at least on paper, to put more of the transaction back in their own hands.
