Pakistan’s digital payment ecosystem is booming, with mobile app-based transactions hitting 2 billion in Q1 FY26 and accounting for over 80% of all digital payments, as revealed by the State Bank’s First Quarterly Payment Systems Review of FY26 report released on Tuesday.
According to the report, retail payment volumes rose to 2.8 billion transactions, marking a 10% quarterly growth, while the value of retail payments increased to Rs166 trillion, up 6% over the previous quarter.
“This expansion was primarily driven by the continued rise in mobile app-based banking,” said SBP.
Meanwhile, digital payment channels accounted for 2.5 billion transactions, representing 90% of total retail payments compared to 87% in the same quarter last year. The value of transactions through digital channels reached Rs55 trillion, underscoring the growing usage of these channels across the economy.
SBP deputy governor explains how digital payments, financial services can transform women’s lives
The SBP report revealed that mobile app-based payments dominated the digital landscape, with two billion transactions carried out through apps offered by banks, branchless banking (BB) providers, and EMIs.
These transactions constituted 81% of all digital payments and amounted to Rs33.7 trillion in value.
“This channel is used for various types of digital payments, including person-to-person payments, bill payments, and account & wallet-based merchant payments at both online platforms and physical retail outlets,” said SBP.
Meanwhile, internet banking has also observed steady expansion, with an increasing number of users conducting transactions through digital channels. Card users also expanded with payment cards in circulation reaching 61.3 million, of which 90% are debit cards and 4% are credit cards.
The government’s Raast Instant Payment System continues to maintain strong growth momentum. Person-to-Person (P2P) transactions rose to 535 million, a jump of 31%, with a value of Rs11.3 trillion during the quarter.
Raast P2M transactions, on the other hand, doubled to 4.3 million, amounting to Rs17 billion. Overall, Raast processed 544 million transactions valuing Rs12.8 trillion.
PoS terminals and e-commerce activity continued to grow, registering 1.5 million daily card-based transactions.
A network of 20,527 ATMs facilitated 267 million transactions amounting to Rs4.5 trillion across the country.
Bank branches processed 137 million transactions of Rs110 trillion, while BB agents facilitated 129 million transactions amounting to Rs0.9 trillion.
“These developments collectively reflect continued progress toward a more inclusive, efficient, and digitally enabled payments ecosystem in Pakistan,” said SBP.
