Our team

Hashir works on research and policy engagements at the intersection of digital financial infrastructure, digital identity, and regulatory governance, with a focus on enabling inclusive, trusted, and scalable digital public infrastructure in emerging and developing economies.

Most recently, Hashir served as Lead Researcher at R3, advising central banks and government agencies across the Middle East and beyond on CBDC design, governance, and payment system modernisation. Prior to that, he conducted econometric research at the World Bank's Development Economics Research Group, where he co-developed a Transaction Cost Index for digital payments and contributed to studies on the economic case for e-KYC and women's participation in mobile money across Bangladesh, Uganda and Tanzania.

Previously, Hashir spent six years at the State Bank of Pakistan, where he was part of the core team that designed and launched RAAST, Pakistan's national instant payment system. He authored Pakistan's first CBDC concept paper, and designed the country's interoperable QR payment policy, contributing to its fintech regulatory framework. He is passionate about bridging the gap between policy design and real-world implementation to ensure digital financial infrastructure works for underserved populations.

Hashir holds a Master in Public Administration from Columbia University, where he was a World Bank/Joint Japan Scholar; an MSc in Economics from the Institute of Business Administration, Karachi; and a Cambridge FinTech Regulatory Certificate from the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance. He was also the youngest trainer to be onboarded by the National Institute of Banking and Finance in Pakistan.