Digital payments rise to 3.7bn transactions in January-March: SBP

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s retail payments processed through the banking system climbed to 3.7 billion transactions during January-March 2026, marking a 9% increase from the previous quarter, according to the State Bank of Pakistan’s latest Payment Systems Quarterly Review.

The central bank’s review showed retail payment volumes rising from 3.38 billion in the preceding quarter to 3.70 billion, while the total value increased from Rs167.2 trillion to Rs168.8 trillion. Growth was led by digital channels, where transaction volumes rose from 3.11 billion to 3.41 billion and the value of those payments increased from Rs64.4 trillion to Rs68.3 trillion.

Digital channels accounted for 3.4 billion transactions, or 92% of total retail payments by volume. These channels included mobile banking applications, digital wallets, internet banking, USSD, ATMs, point-of-sale terminals, e-commerce platforms and call or IVR banking services. Together, they handled transactions worth Rs68.3 trillion during the quarter.

Mobile apps and wallets lead growth

Mobile banking apps and e-money wallets remained the biggest contributors to digital payments. During the quarter, users carried out 2.89 billion transactions worth Rs41.67 trillion through apps and wallets offered by banks, branchless banking providers and electronic money institutions. These transactions covered fund transfers, bill payments, merchant payments and other financial services.

The number of users of digital banking services also continued to increase. By March 2026, branchless banking mobile app users had reached 95.8 million, banking mobile app users rose to 28.9 million, EMI wallet users increased to 7.3 million and internet banking users climbed to 16.2 million, reflecting a growing preference for app-based payment channels.

According to the review, mobile banking and digital wallet registrations had crossed 132 million by March 2026, up 37% from 96 million a year earlier. Internet banking registrations stood at 16.2 million. With 268 million bank accounts recorded as of December 2025, nearly 49% were linked to a mobile banking app or digital wallet.

Raast and merchant payments expand

Raast also recorded further growth during the quarter. Person-to-person transactions rose to 664 million, with a value of Rs18.88 trillion, compared with 603 million transactions worth Rs15.69 trillion in the previous quarter. Person-to-merchant services also expanded, with more than 2.6 million merchants onboarded by the end of the quarter. Overall, Raast processed 742 million transactions amounting to Rs23.27 trillion.

QR code-based merchant payments posted strong quarter-on-quarter growth, increasing 41% to 87.3 million transactions. Their value rose 63% to Rs0.5 trillion. E-commerce payments through bank accounts and digital wallets also grew, with consumers making 434.5 million online purchases worth Rs0.47 trillion.

Cards, branches and RTGS activity

Payment cards in circulation stood at 68.25 million at the end of the quarter, including 57.2 million debit cards. During the period, cards were used for 272.2 million ATM transactions worth Rs4.99 trillion, 150.4 million point-of-sale transactions valued at Rs0.81 trillion, and 32.3 million e-commerce transactions amounting to Rs0.14 trillion.

Despite the continued expansion of digital payments, physical banking channels remained a significant part of the system. By March, the country had 20,232 bank branches and 819,397 branchless banking agents. During the quarter, bank branches processed 127.9 million transactions worth Rs99.5 trillion, while branchless banking agents handled 154.7 million transactions amounting to Rs1.1 trillion.

The Real-Time Gross Settlement system, PRISM+, settled 1.5 million high-value transactions worth Rs389.8 trillion, with government securities making up the largest share. At bank branches, cheque transfers remained the largest category by value at Rs70 trillion. Cash deposits totalled Rs13.7 trillion, withdrawals reached Rs10.5 trillion, while branches also processed Rs3.7 trillion through pay orders and demand drafts, Rs0.7 trillion in bill payments and Rs0.8 trillion through other payment instruments.

The central bank said the continued rise in digital payment use, the expansion of the user base, wider merchant acceptance and the performance of systems such as Raast and PRISM+ reflected Pakistan’s progress towards a more inclusive, resilient and digitally enabled financial ecosystem.