BISP Digital Wallet: Get the Free Benazir SIM and Withdraw Your Payment

BISP now pays Kafaalat money into a Digital Wallet linked to a free Benazir SIM. Collect the SIM from your nearest BISP office with your original CNIC and your own phone. When the money arrives you get an SMS, and you can withdraw it from any authorised agent of a partner bank, in any city, on any day. BISP says a Rs 280 service charge has been fixed for a cash withdrawal.

The change matters because the old payment points made women queue, travel back to their home district and lose money to agents. The wallet is meant to stop all three. It only works if the SIM came from a BISP office. A SIM bought from a shop will not receive the payment.

Get the free Benazir SIM only from a BISP office

BISP's chairperson has said again and again that payments go only to the wallet linked with an officially issued Benazir SIM. A SIM from a shop, a house or an agent will not work, even if someone tells you it is "the BISP SIM".

Take two things to the BISP office: your original CNIC and your own mobile phone. BISP staff put the SIM into your phone and activate the wallet there and then. The wallet cannot be used until that activation is done.

1. Go to your nearest BISP tehsil office, or a BISP SIM distribution site in your area.
2. Take your original CNIC, not a copy, and your own phone.
3. Let the BISP staff insert the SIM in your phone and activate the wallet.
4. Write the new mobile number down and keep it safe at home.
5. Pay nothing. The SIM and the wallet activation are free.

If you already took a SIM from somewhere else, go back to a BISP office for the official one. BISP has asked exactly those women to come in. By 10 September 2026 it had issued 9.7 million free SIMs, and it said in August that wallets had been opened for 90% of women beneficiaries.

Wait for the SMS before you go to an agent

You will get an SMS from the partner bank when your payment reaches the wallet. That message is your proof of how much was paid. Do not delete it, and do not let anyone else hold your phone.

There is no rush. The money stays safely in the wallet until you take it out. BISP says you can withdraw on any day of the week, Saturdays and Sundays included, so there is no reason to stand in a crowd on the first day.

BISP says 8171 is its only official number. Apart from the bank's payment SMS, a call or message from any other number asking for your PIN, a fee or your SIM is a fraud. Your eligibility and payment status can still be checked by sending your CNIC to 8171, explained in checking your BISP payment and eligibility on 8171.

Withdraw at any partner bank agent, in any city

Go to an authorised retailer of a partner bank. BISP says six partner banks provide the service. You can use any of them anywhere in Pakistan, so you no longer need to go back to your home district.

At the counter you need three things: your original CNIC, your registered mobile number and your thumbprint. Nothing else. After you withdraw, you get a second SMS that shows the amount paid out. Compare it with what you were handed before you leave.

BISP's release does not say whether the Rs 280 is taken from the woman's payment or paid to the agent some other way. If an agent takes more than Rs 280, or anything at all when BISP has told you otherwise, ask BISP on 0800-26477 before you accept it.

If one agent says he cannot pay you, go to an agent of another partner bank. BISP says this explicitly. Never hand your phone to the agent. He does not need it.

Fix a short payment or a failed thumbprint

If the agent pays less than the SMS shows, ask for the full amount and show him the message. If he refuses, report it straight away to the nearest BISP office, BISP staff, or the helpline 0800-26477. Keep both SMS messages as evidence.

Illegal cuts at payment points are not new. Agents have been reported taking Rs 2,000 from payments, and agents illegally cutting BISP payments sets out how that works and how to push back. The SMS record makes such a cut much easier to prove.

Some women, often older women or those who do manual work, have thumbprints that the machine does not read. BISP says they can get a facial recognition certificate from a NADRA office. Ask at NADRA for it before your next withdrawal.

Keep the wallet safe from fraud

The Benazir SIM is your wallet, and BISP has said its security is your responsibility. Treat the SIM like cash.

• Do not give the phone or the SIM to an agent, a neighbour or a "BISP officer" who visits your home.
• Do not share a PIN or a code from any SMS.
• Withdraw only from a bank's authorised retailer outlet, never from a private house.
• Trust only BISP's verified social media pages, the 8171 number and the BISP office.
• Remember that no one can stop an eligible woman's payment as a threat. BISP has said so.

The amount itself has not changed with the wallet. The current Kafaalat instalment and the planned rise are covered in how much the BISP Kafaalat payment is.

Common questions

Is the Benazir SIM free?

Yes. BISP says the SIM and the wallet activation are free. Pay nothing to anyone for them.

Can I use my own SIM for the BISP wallet?

No. BISP pays only into the wallet linked with a SIM issued at a BISP office.

How much does it cost to withdraw BISP money from the wallet?

BISP says a service charge of Rs 280 has been fixed for a cash withdrawal. Report any agent who takes more.

Do I have to withdraw the money the day it arrives?

No. The money stays in the wallet. You can withdraw it on any day, including weekends.

What if my thumbprint does not work?

Get a facial recognition certificate from a NADRA office, as BISP advises, and use it at the agent.

Can I withdraw in another city?

Yes. Any authorised agent of a partner bank anywhere in Pakistan can pay you.

How we verified this

What we checked, where we read it, and what we could not confirm.

Last checked 9 October 2026. Everything here comes from BISP's own press releases on the BISP website: No. 56 (14 July 2026) and No. 66 (3 August 2026) on collecting the SIM, the two SMS messages, the helpline and not handing over phones; No. 57 (15 July 2026) on the BISP-office-only rule, activation and withdrawing in any city; No. 70 (24 August 2026) on the 90% of wallets opened, free activation, the Rs 280 withdrawal charge, the six partner banks and 8171 as the only official number; No. 71 (25 August 2026) on the free SIM, switching to another bank's agent and the NADRA facial recognition certificate; and No. 76 (10 September 2026) on 9.7 million SIMs issued. BISP has not named the six banks in these releases, and we did not visit an agent.