Pakistan’s payment landscape has crossed a digital Rubicon, with 88% of all retail transactions in FY25 conducted through electronic channels, according to the State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) latest Annual Payment Systems Review.
The total volume of retail payments skyrocketed to 9.1 billion transactions, a 38% year-on-year increase, valued at PKR 612 trillion. This marks a decisive move away from over-the-counter (OTC) banking, whose share has shrunk to just 12% of all retail transactions.
The driving force behind this surge is mobile app-based banking. Transactions via banking, branchless banking, and e-money wallet apps collectively grew by 52% in volume to 6.2 billion transactions, underscoring a mobile-first adoption strategy among consumers.
Meanwhile, Raast, the national instant payment system, has cemented its role as critical infrastructure. It processed a staggering 1.28 billion transactions worth PKR 29.6 trillion in FY25—a near nine-fold increase in value from just two years prior.
“The data confirms a structural shift in the nation’s payment habits,” said a senior SBP official. “The ecosystem, supported by Raast and expanding digital infrastructure, is now fundamentally digital-first.”
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