KARACHI: Digital payments accounted for more than 92% of retail payment transactions in Pakistan during FY2025-26, as the country continued its rapid shift toward mobile and digital financial services.
According to the State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) Annual Payment Systems Review FY2025-26, retail payment transactions increased 58% to 14.3 billion, compared with 9.1 billion in the previous fiscal year. Their total value rose 10% to Rs672.7 trillion.
Digital channels processed 13.2 billion transactions worth Rs257.1 trillion during the year, up from 8 billion transactions worth Rs178.6 trillion in FY2025. However, digital payments represented only 38% of total retail payment value, showing that cash and over-the-counter channels remain important for larger transactions.
Mobile-based payment services were the main driver of digital adoption, processing 11.1 billion transactions, up 79% year-on-year. Mobile banking apps, branchless banking apps, e-wallets and other mobile services accounted for 78% of all retail transactions.
Pakistan’s digital payment infrastructure also expanded significantly. QR-enabled merchants more than tripled to 3.84 million, while POS devices increased 49% to 337,791 by June 2026. E-commerce merchants registered with banks also rose from 9,584 to 23,356.
Digital banking users continued to grow, with branchless banking app users reaching 99.1 million and mobile banking users rising to 30.4 million. E-money wallet users also increased 37% to 7.9 million.
Despite the rapid growth of digital transactions, over-the-counter payments continued to dominate in value. OTC transactions through bank branches and branchless banking agents reached Rs415.7 trillion, or around 62% of total retail payment value.
The SBP said there remains significant potential to shift higher-value transactions involving businesses, government entities and financial institutions toward digital channels.
