ISLAMABAD – Big boom reported in Pakistan’s online transactions, as it is showing how mobile apps, instant payments, and innovative banking solutions are reshaping the way the nation transacts.
Pakistan’s retail payments sector is surging to new heights, with the first quarter of Fiscal Year 2025-26 witnessing 2.8 billion transactions, a 10% increase from the previous quarter. The total value of payments jumped to 166 trillion, up 6%, as consumers and businesses increasingly embrace digital solutions.
State Bank of Pakistan’s latest Quarterly Report on Payment Systems reveals a rapid transformation of the country’s financial landscape. Fund transfers dominated the scene with 1,445 million transactions, followed by 400 million merchant payments, 353 million bill payments and top-ups, 311 million cash withdrawals, and 87 million cash deposits. In value terms, fund transfers led with 123 trillion, with cash withdrawals and deposits at 28 trillion.
Digital channels are now leading, accounting for 90% of all retail transactions (2.5 billion) and totaling 55 trillion in value. Mobile app-based banking emerged as the powerhouse, processing 2.0 billion transactions worth 33.7 trillion, covering everything from P2P payments and bill settlements to merchant payments both online and in physical stores. Internet banking and payment cards also saw steady growth, with 61.3 million cards in circulation (90% debit, 4% credit).
Raast Instant Payment System continues its meteoric rise, recording 544 million transactions valued at 12.8 trillion. Person-to-person transfers jumped 31% to 535 million transactions worth 11.3 trillion, while person-to-merchant payments doubled to 4.3 million transactions totaling 17 billion.
Card payments and e-commerce are booming as well, with 1.5 million daily card transactions and 20,527 ATMs processing 267 million transactions worth PKR 4.5 trillion. Each ATM handled an average of 142 transactions per day with 16,800 average transaction value.
Physical banking infrastructure continues to play a key role: 19,852 bank branches handled 137 million transactions worth 110 trillion, while 756,480 BB agents processed 129 million transactions totaling 0.9 trillion.
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