ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s digital financial sector is witnessing a major boom, with online transactions reaching record levels. Consumers and businesses are increasingly turning to mobile apps, instant payments, and innovative banking solutions.
The first quarter of Fiscal Year 2025-26 saw 2.8 billion transactions, marking a 10% increase from the previous quarter. The total value of payments rose to PKR 166 trillion, up 6%, highlighting the growing reliance on digital methods.
According to the State Bank of Pakistan’s latest Quarterly Report on Payment Systems, fund transfers led the volume of online transactions with 1,445 million transactions. Merchant payments followed with 400 million, bill payments and top-ups at 353 million, cash withdrawals at 311 million, and cash deposits at 87 million. In value terms, fund transfers topped PKR 123 trillion, while cash withdrawals and deposits amounted to PKR 28 trillion.
Digital channels dominated retail payments, accounting for 90% of all transactions—2.5 billion in total—worth PKR 55 trillion. Mobile app-based banking emerged as the most popular tool, processing 2.0 billion online transactions valued at PKR 33.7 trillion. These include peer-to-peer payments, bill settlements, and merchant payments, both online and in-store.
The Raast Instant Payment System continued its rapid rise, recording 544 million transactions valued at PKR 12.8 trillion. Person-to-person transfers jumped 31% to 535 million transactions worth PKR 11.3 trillion, while person-to-merchant payments doubled to 4.3 million transactions totaling PKR 17 billion.
Card payments and e-commerce also grew strongly. Daily card transactions reached 1.5 million, with 20,527 ATMs processing 267 million transactions worth PKR 4.5 trillion. Each ATM handled an average of 142 transactions per day.
Physical banking infrastructure remains significant. Nearly 19,852 bank branches processed 137 million transactions worth PKR 110 trillion. Additionally, 756,480 branchless banking agents handled 129 million transactions totaling PKR 0.9 trillion.
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The growth in online transactions reflects Pakistan’s shift towards a more digital economy. With mobile banking, instant payments, and improved e-commerce solutions, the country is embracing technology to make financial services faster, safer, and more accessible to all.
