KARACHI: Digital payments continued to expand rapidly in Pakistan during fiscal year 2025-26, with the volume of digital transactions increasing by 65% year-on-year, according to the State Bank of Pakistan’s annual Payment Systems Review.
The report showed that retail payments increased by 58% during the financial year, with the total value of retail transactions reaching Rs673 trillion.
Formal banking channels processed 14.3 billion retail transactions during FY2025-26, of which 13.2 billion were conducted through digital channels. As a result, digital payments accounted for 92% of total retail transactions, compared with 88% in the previous financial year.
Mobile phone-based payments recorded particularly strong growth. Their volume exceeded 11.1 billion transactions during the year, representing a 79% annual increase.
Internet banking also continued to gain ground, with around 300 million transactions recorded during FY2025-26. The volume of internet banking transactions increased by 15% compared with the previous year.
The country’s digital payment infrastructure expanded alongside the increase in transactions. According to the State Bank, the number of point-of-sale (POS) terminals reached 337,791, installed at 295,367 merchant locations across Pakistan.
Card payments through POS terminals also increased. Around 1.5 million card payments were processed through POS terminals each day during the financial year, compared with approximately 1 million daily payments in the previous year.
The report also highlighted the growing role of digital banking in e-commerce. Account-based payments represented 96% of e-commerce payments processed through banking channels during the period.
The number of users of branchless banking mobile applications reached 99.1 million, while mobile applications operated by banks had 30.4 million users.
The State Bank said smartphones were increasingly being used for routine banking activities, reflecting a continuing shift in consumer behaviour towards mobile and digital financial services.
The growing use of digital payment channels is transforming the country’s retail payment landscape, with consumers increasingly using mobile phones, internet banking and electronic payment facilities for everyday financial transactions.
The expansion of POS infrastructure and mobile banking services is also increasing opportunities for businesses to accept electronic payments, while the growing use of digital channels could support wider access to formal financial services.
