Pakistan’s Senate Standing Committee on Finance has urged a major policy rethink in the country’s banking sector by advocating for a wider shift toward PayPak, Pakistan’s domestic payment card scheme. The committee, which met under the chairmanship of Senator Saleem Mandviwalla, held extensive discussions on the growing reliance on international card networks such as Visa and MasterCard, and the need to encourage adoption of local alternatives to support the domestic financial ecosystem.
Officials from the State Bank of Pakistan briefed the committee on the current landscape of payment card usage across the country. As of March 2025, Pakistan hosts around 53 million cardholders. Of this total, roughly 10 million customers hold PayPak cards, while approximately 12.5 million use Visa. The figures underline a relatively modest penetration of the local card scheme when compared with international competitors, despite the State Bank’s repeated efforts to build a robust domestic payments framework.
During the meeting, Senator Mandviwalla expressed concern over the overwhelming preference for Visa and MasterCard among the banking sector and consumers. Highlighting that banks continue to earn significant profits through transactions linked to these global players, he stressed the importance of incentivizing banks to direct customers toward adopting PayPak. “Banks earn profits from these cards. We should require banks to encourage customers to adopt PayPak,” he remarked.
The committee members also delved into the issue of annual charges on Visa and MasterCard transactions, which are settled in U.S. dollars. This reliance on foreign payment systems not only results in outflows of valuable foreign exchange but also keeps local solutions on the back foot. Some members questioned why banks have been slow to offer and promote local card options, with one noting that banks themselves seem to be actively preventing customers from moving to domestic alternatives.
In a bid to support Pakistan’s financial autonomy, the committee proposed that account holders should be explicitly offered the option to choose local cards. This approach could help drive adoption of PayPak and gradually decrease dependence on foreign card networks. Members argued that growing the local payment card ecosystem is crucial for strengthening the overall digital financial infrastructure of the country.
The discussion comes amid broader efforts by Pakistan’s regulators to enhance the local digital payments landscape and safeguard foreign reserves. By advocating for greater use of PayPak, lawmakers hope to not only reduce transaction costs tied to foreign networks but also retain more economic value within the country. The matter is expected to be taken up in subsequent sessions, with further recommendations likely to emerge on regulatory measures to support domestic financial instruments.
This push from the Senate committee signals a clear shift in priorities as Pakistan looks to modernize its banking sector and develop a more self-reliant digital payments environment. The coming months will reveal how the country’s financial institutions respond to this call for fostering local payment solutions and reducing their reliance on international platforms.