Karachi, Tuesday — Pakistan’s digital payment ecosystem continued its rapid expansion in the first quarter of FY26, with mobile app-based transactions reaching 2 billion, accounting for over 80% of all digital payments, according to the State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) First Quarterly Payment Systems Review of FY26 released on Tuesday.
The report revealed that retail payment volumes increased to 2.8 billion transactions, reflecting a 10% quarter-on-quarter growth, while the value of retail payments rose to Rs166 trillion, marking a 6% increase compared to the previous quarter.
“This expansion was primarily driven by the continued rise in mobile app-based banking,” the central bank said.
Digital payment channels dominated retail transactions, accounting for 2.5 billion transactions, or 90% of total retail payments, up from 87% in the same quarter last year. The value of transactions through digital channels reached Rs55 trillion, highlighting the accelerating adoption of digital payments across the economy.
According to the SBP, mobile app-based payments remained the leading digital channel, with transactions conducted through apps offered by banks, branchless banking (BB) providers, and electronic money institutions (EMIs) totaling two billion transactions during the quarter. These transactions accounted for 81% of all digital payments, with a cumulative value of Rs33.7 trillion.
“This channel is used for various types of digital payments, including person-to-person payments, bill payments, and account- and wallet-based merchant payments at both online platforms and physical retail outlets,” the SBP noted.
Internet banking also witnessed steady growth, supported by a rising number of users transacting through digital platforms. Meanwhile, the number of payment cards in circulation increased to 61.3 million, with debit cards comprising 90% and credit cards 4% of the total.
The government-backed Raast Instant Payment System maintained strong growth momentum during the quarter. Person-to-Person (P2P) transactions rose to 535 million, reflecting a 31% increase, with a total value of Rs11.3 trillion. Raast Person-to-Merchant (P2M) transactions doubled to 4.3 million, amounting to Rs17 billion. Overall, Raast processed 544 million transactions worth Rs12.8 trillion during the quarter.
Point-of-sale (PoS) terminals and e-commerce activity also continued to expand, recording 1.5 million daily card-based transactions. Across the country, a network of 20,527 ATMs facilitated 267 million transactions, amounting to Rs4.5 trillion.
Additionally, bank branches processed 137 million transactions valued at Rs110 trillion, while branchless banking agents facilitated 129 million transactions worth Rs0.9 trillion.
“These developments collectively reflect continued progress toward a more inclusive, efficient, and digitally enabled payments ecosystem in Pakistan,” the SBP said.
