78% Digital Payments in Pakistan Now Done On Mobile Banking Apps: SBP

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has released its Quarterly Payment Systems Review for the January–March 2026 quarter.

Mobile app-based payments remained the dominant digital payment channel, with 2.9 billion transactions conducted through apps offered by branchless banking (BB) providers, banks, and Electronic Money Institutions (EMIs).

These transactions accounted for 78 percent of all digital payments and were valued at Rs. 42 trillion. They covered a wide range of services, including person-to-person transfers, bill payments, and account- and wallet-based merchant payments across online platforms and physical retail outlets.

Digital payment channels processed 3.4 billion transactions worth Rs. 68 trillion.

According to the report, 3.7 billion retail payments worth Rs. 168.8 trillion were processed during the quarter. Of these, 92 percent were conducted through digital payment channels, including mobile banking apps, internet banking, USSD, ATMs, point-of-sale (POS) terminals, e-commerce platforms, and call center IVR banking. Retail transaction volume increased by 9 percent compared to the previous quarter.

Internet banking also recorded steady growth, with transaction volume rising 5 percent and transaction value increasing 19 percent over the previous quarter.

Meanwhile, the Raast Instant Payment System maintained strong momentum, processing 742.1 million transactions worth Rs. 23.3 trillion during the quarter. Of the total, 664 million were person-to-person (P2P) transactions, up 10 percent from the previous quarter, with a value of Rs. 18.9 trillion.

Person-to-merchant (P2M) transactions also grew significantly, increasing to 55.9 million from 36.3 million in the previous quarter.

The banking network continued to support over-the-counter (OTC) services through 20,232 bank branches and 819,397 banking agents, offering services such as cash deposits, withdrawals, fund transfers, and bill payments.

Bank branches processed 128 million transactions worth Rs. 99.5 trillion, while banking agents facilitated 155 million transactions valued at Rs 1.1 trillion.