Pakistan’s digital payments industry is shifting its focus towards everyday use as transaction volumes grow and merchant registrations expand.
The State Bank of Pakistan’s Payment Systems Quarterly Review recorded 3.7 billion retail transactions during January-March 2026, according to the supplied report. Digital channels handled 3.4 billion, approximately 92% of the total, worth Rs68.3 trillion.
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The figures reflect transactions covered by the review, rather than every cash purchase across the economy.
Raast volumes continue to climb
Raast processed approximately 742 million transactions worth Rs23.27 trillion during the quarter. Person-to-person payments accounted for 664 million transactions worth Rs18.88 trillion.
That compared with 603 million P2P transactions worth Rs15.69 trillion in the preceding quarter.
Total Raast volumes rose from 295.7 million in FY2024-25’s second quarter to 371.2 million in the third. They reached 412.1 million in the fourth quarter.
Volumes subsequently climbed to 543.9 million in FY2025-26’s first quarter, followed by 645.7 million and 742 million.
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By March, branchless banking apps had 95.8 million users, while banking mobile apps had 28.9 million. Electronic money institution wallet apps recorded 7.3 million users.
These categories should not be combined into a count of unique individuals, as customers can use multiple services.
Mashreq expands merchant payments
“The digital payments ecosystem is entering a phase where the focus needs to shift from access to adoption,” said Mashreq Pakistan CEO Muhammad Hamayun Sajjad.
Mashreq has introduced Raast Person-to-Merchant payments, enabling merchants to receive instant QR-code payments through customers’ digital banking channels. The supplied report describes it as Pakistan’s first newly launched digital bank offering the full Raast suite.
Raast Payments Pakistan CEO Ahson Bin Saeed said priorities included stronger infrastructure, broader participation and reliable, accessible payment experiences.
He described Mashreq’s P2M launch as another step towards everyday merchant and consumer use. SBP also lists Raast Payments Pakistan among its subsidiaries supporting digital payments.
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More than 2.6 million merchants had onboarded or registered aliases for Raast P2M by March’s end.
Free payments create commercial challenges
“The adoption of Raast in Pakistan is progressing at a relatively fast pace; however, a significant part of this momentum appears to be driven by regulatory encouragement and the strong push from the regulator, rather than entirely by organic market demand,” said iPath CEO Abdus Samad Khan.
Khan said consumer-free P2P and P2M payments created challenges compared with the earlier interbank transfer model. Providers must fund technology, infrastructure, compliance, support and processing through other revenue streams.
He also cited limited awareness of Raast’s uses and differences from other channels. Some merchants reportedly favour cash or established easypaisa and JazzCash wallets over formal Raast merchant payments.
Smaller businesses face onboarding, reconciliation, settlement and digital-literacy difficulties, alongside concerns about taxation and transaction records.
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SBP’s Digital Innovation and Settlements Director Muhammad Imad Uddin emphasised inclusive infrastructure and effective adoption as the measure of progress.
The government allocated Rs3.5 billion for Raast P2M QR transactions between September 2025 and June 2026.
