KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Tuesday released its Quarterly Payment Systems Review for the first quarter (Q1) of Fiscal Year 2025-26, reporting a significant 10% growth in retail payment transactions. The report provides a detailed analysis of Pakistan’s evolving payment ecosystem, highlighting key trends, digital adoption, and sectoral developments during the quarter.
According to the SBP, retail payment volumes reached 2.8 billion transactions in Q1 FY26, reflecting a 10% increase over the previous quarter. The total value of retail payments rose to PKR 166 trillion, up 6% from the preceding quarter, driven primarily by the surge in mobile app-based banking.
Digital payments continued to dominate, accounting for 2.5 billion transactions—or 90% of total retail payments—compared to 87% in the same quarter last year. The total value of digital transactions reached PKR 55 trillion.
Mobile app-based payments led the digital channel growth, with 2.0 billion transactions amounting to PKR 33.7 trillion.
These payments included person-to-person transfers, bill payments, and merchant transactions at both online and physical retail points. Internet banking also expanded steadily, while payment card usage reached 61.3 million, with 90% being debit cards and 4% credit cards.
The Raast Instant Payment System recorded strong growth, processing 544 million transactions valued at PKR 12.8 trillion. Person-to-person (P2P) transactions surged by 31% to 535 million, while P2M payments doubled to 4.3 million transactions worth PKR 17 billion.
Other digital and physical channels also saw growth: ATMs handled 267 million transactions worth PKR 4.5 trillion, and PoS and e-commerce transactions averaged 1.5 million per day. Additionally, bank branches and branchless banking agents supported millions of over-the-counter payments, reinforcing financial inclusion across Pakistan.
These developments highlight Pakistan’s continued progress toward a more inclusive, efficient, and digitally empowered retail payments ecosystem
