The State Bank of Pakistan has reported a strong surge in digital payments, underscoring rapid progress in the country’s payment infrastructure during the first quarter of fiscal year 2025–26.
In its latest Quarterly Report on Payment Systems, the central bank said overall payment activity reached 2.8 billion transactions in the quarter, up 10% from the previous three months. The total value of retail payments climbed to Rs166 trillion, reflecting a 6% quarter-on-quarter increase, largely fuelled by the growing popularity of mobile app–based banking.
Digital channels continued to dominate Pakistan’s payments landscape. Transactions conducted through digital platforms rose to 2.5 billion, accounting for 90% of all retail payments, compared with 87% in the same period last year. The value of these digital transactions stood at Rs55 trillion, highlighting wider acceptance of cashless payments across the economy.
Mobile applications remained the backbone of digital payments. Banks, branchless banking operators and electronic money institutions collectively processed 2.0 billion transactions through mobile apps during the quarter. These made up 81% of all digital transactions and were valued at Rs33.7 trillion. According to the SBP, consumers increasingly rely on mobile apps for person-to-person transfers, utility bill payments, and both account- and wallet-based merchant payments across e-commerce platforms and physical retail stores.
Internet banking usage also continued its upward trend, supported by a steady rise in online users. Meanwhile, the total number of payment cards in circulation grew to 61.3 million, with debit cards accounting for 90% and credit cards for 4% of the total.
The Raast Instant Payment System posted particularly robust growth. Person-to-person payments via Raast surged to 535 million transactions, up 31%, with a combined value of Rs11.3 trillion. Person-to-merchant transactions more than doubled to 4.3 million, amounting to Rs17.0 billion. Overall, Raast handled 544 million transactions worth Rs12.8 trillion during the quarter.
Card-based payments and digital commerce also expanded further. On average, 1.5 million card transactions were processed daily at point-of-sale terminals and online merchants. In parallel, Pakistan’s ATM network—comprising 20,527 machines nationwide—facilitated 267 million transactions with a total value of Rs4.5 trillion, reflecting continued reliance on cash withdrawals alongside rising digital adoption.
