Mobile banking, e-wallets drive 12% growth in Pakistan digital payments

KARACHI: Pakistan witnessed a growth of 12% in the volume of retail digital payment transactions from Oct. till Dec. 2024 on a year-on-year basis, the Pakistani central bank said, attributing it to the largescale use of mobile banking and e-wallet services.
Retail transactions witnessed an 11% increase in volume, reaching 2,143 million, while the value of transactions increased by 12% to Rs154 trillion, according to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).
The growth in value was primarily driven by mobile banking app payments, and Internet banking payments, and over-the-counter (OTC) transactions at bank branches.
“Digital payment channels processed 88% of all retail transactions by volume, with mobile app-based banking playing a crucial role,” the SBP said in its quarterly report issued on Friday.
“These platforms which includes mobile banking apps, branchless banking (BB) wallets, and e-Money wallets, collectively processed 1,450 million transactions worth PKR 24 trillion, marking a 12% increase in volume and 28% increase in value.”
Pakistan, with a population of 240 million, is home to one of the world’s largest unbanked populations, with around 64% of its adult population having a bank account, according to central bank figures. The South Asian country has lately undertaken several reforms to document and digitize economy and broaden its tax base.
The number of users leveraging digital banking services also saw a steady rise in the second quarter of this fiscal year, according to the SBP.
“Mobile banking app users grew to 21 million (↑7%), e-Money and BB wallet users increased to 4.7 million (↑13%) and 64.3 million (↑7%) respectively, while Internet banking users reached 13.3 million (↑7%),” it said.
Digital e-commerce transactions increased by 30% in volume to 152 million, amounting Rs193 billion, up by 32%, according to central bank figures.
The SBP-operated Raast Instant Payment System processed 296 million transactions, while the Real-time Gross Settlement System (RTGS) registered a 19% increase in large-value transactions.
The central bank said Pakistan’s transition toward a digital economy was being driven by the SBP’s strategic initiatives and collaborative efforts of banks, fintechs, and payment service providers, and it was committed to further fostering financial inclusion and enhancing payment efficiency for individuals and businesses.