Digital payments have continued to cement their dominance in Pakistan’s retail financial landscape, with nearly 90 percent of all retail transactions conducted through digital channels during the third quarter of the fiscal year 2024–25 (Q3-FY25). The State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) latest Quarterly Payment Systems Review reveals a notable expansion in both the volume and value of digital transactions, underscoring the country’s accelerating shift toward a cashless economy.
According to the SBP report, the total volume of retail transactions surged by 12 percent to reach 2,408 million, with a corresponding transaction value of Rs. 164 trillion. Among these, 89 percent were processed digitally, reflecting the growing trust and adoption of digital financial services across individuals, businesses, and merchants.
Mobile banking platforms, including smartphone apps, branchless banking (BB) wallets, and e-money wallets, emerged as key drivers of this growth. These platforms collectively handled 1,686 million transactions during the quarter, with a total value of Rs. 27 trillion. This marks a 16 percent increase in volume and a 22 percent rise in value over the previous quarter, highlighting their central role in enabling secure and convenient financial access.
The expansion of the user base further complements the growth story. Mobile banking users grew to 22.6 million (up 7 percent), while BB wallet users reached 68.5 million (up 6 percent). E-money wallet users stood at 5.3 million, registering a 12 percent quarterly increase. Internet banking also saw an increase in users, reaching 14.1 million, reflecting a 7 percent uptick from the previous quarter.
E-commerce continues to witness robust digital integration, with a 40 percent surge in payment volume, reaching 213 million transactions. The total value of these transactions climbed to Rs. 258 billion, representing a 34 percent increase. Digital wallets dominated this space, accounting for 94 percent (199.1 million) of the payments, whereas card-based online payments made up only 6 percent (13.5 million transactions), signaling a broader shift towards mobile-first commerce.
In-store digital adoption also progressed steadily. A total of 140,861 merchants processed 99 million transactions (up 12 percent) valued at Rs. 550 billion (up 8 percent) via a nationwide network of 179,383 point-of-sale (POS) terminals. Merchants using QR code technology processed 21.7 million transactions, with a total value of Rs. 61 billion, further reinforcing the role of contactless payments in daily retail activity.
On the infrastructure side, SBP’s key digital payment systems—Raast and RTGS—continued to play a transformative role. Raast processed 371 million instant transactions valued at Rs. 8.5 trillion in the quarter alone. Since its launch, Raast has handled over 1.5 billion transactions amounting to Rs. 34 trillion. Meanwhile, the Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) system processed 1.5 million high-value transactions with a total volume of Rs. 347 trillion.
The SBP credits this sustained momentum to its proactive digital payments strategy and close coordination with banks, fintech players, and payment service providers. These efforts are aligned with Pakistan’s broader digital financial inclusion agenda, aiming to make payment systems more accessible, efficient, and inclusive.
As the country moves further along the digital transformation curve, the rise in digital transaction volumes and user adoption indicates a strong consumer shift away from traditional cash-based payments. The SBP’s continued investment in digital infrastructure and policy support is expected to solidify these gains and foster deeper integration of technology into Pakistan’s financial ecosystem.