{"id":6409,"date":"2025-12-31T10:11:01","date_gmt":"2025-12-31T05:11:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pkfin.kotenterprises.dev\/?p=6409"},"modified":"2025-12-31T10:11:01","modified_gmt":"2025-12-31T05:11:01","slug":"mobile-app-based-transactions-soar-driving-10-growth-in-pakistans-retail-payments-sbp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pkfin.kotenterprises.dev\/?p=6409","title":{"rendered":"Mobile app-based transactions soar, driving 10% growth in Pakistan\u2019s retail payments – SBP"},"content":{"rendered":"

Karachi, Tuesday<\/em> \u2014 Pakistan\u2019s digital payment ecosystem continued its rapid expansion in the first quarter of FY26, with mobile app-based transactions reaching 2 billion<\/strong>, accounting for over 80% of all digital payments<\/strong>, according to the State Bank of Pakistan<\/a>\u2019s (SBP) First Quarterly Payment Systems Review of FY26<\/strong> released on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

The report revealed that retail payment volumes increased to 2.8 billion transactions<\/strong>, reflecting a 10% quarter-on-quarter growth<\/strong>, while the value of retail payments rose to Rs166 trillion<\/strong>, marking a 6% increase<\/strong> compared to the previous quarter.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis expansion was primarily driven by the continued rise in mobile app-based banking,\u201d the central bank said.<\/p>\n

Digital payment channels dominated retail transactions, accounting for 2.5 billion transactions<\/strong>, or 90% of total retail payments<\/strong>, up from 87% in the same quarter last year<\/strong>. The value of transactions through digital channels reached Rs55 trillion<\/strong>, highlighting the accelerating adoption of digital payments across the economy.<\/p>\n

According to the SBP, mobile app-based payments remained the leading digital channel<\/strong>, with transactions conducted through apps offered by banks, branchless banking (BB) providers, and electronic money institutions (EMIs)<\/strong> totaling two billion transactions<\/strong> during the quarter. These transactions accounted for 81% of all digital payments<\/strong>, with a cumulative value of Rs33.7 trillion<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis 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,\u201d the SBP noted.<\/p>\n

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<\/strong>, with debit cards comprising 90%<\/strong> and credit cards 4%<\/strong> of the total.<\/p>\n

The government-backed Raast Instant Payment System<\/strong> maintained strong growth momentum during the quarter. Person-to-Person (P2P) transactions rose to 535 million<\/strong>, reflecting a 31% increase<\/strong>, with a total value of Rs11.3 trillion<\/strong>. Raast Person-to-Merchant (P2M) transactions doubled to 4.3 million<\/strong>, amounting to Rs17 billion<\/strong>. Overall, Raast processed 544 million transactions worth Rs12.8 trillion<\/strong> during the quarter.<\/p>\n

Point-of-sale (PoS) terminals and e-commerce activity also continued to expand, recording 1.5 million daily card-based transactions<\/strong>. Across the country, a network of 20,527 ATMs<\/strong> facilitated 267 million transactions<\/strong>, amounting to Rs4.5 trillion<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Additionally, bank branches processed 137 million transactions valued at Rs110 trillion<\/strong>, while branchless banking agents facilitated 129 million transactions worth Rs0.9 trillion<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese developments collectively reflect continued progress toward a more inclusive, efficient, and digitally enabled payments ecosystem in Pakistan,\u201d the SBP said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6410,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"_FSMCFIC_featured_image_caption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_nocaption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_hide":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post","format-standard"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t