According to the State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) Quarterly Payment System Review released on Monday, digital financial transactions in Pakistan continued to rise, with mobile and internet banking customers increasing significantly during the third quarter of the previous fiscal year.According to the research, bank clients made 309.5 million e-Banking transactions worth Rs22.5 trillion between January and March 2021, representing a 31 percent increase in volume and a 29 percent increase in value over the same quarter last year.
“Internet banking and mobile banking transactions saw the most growth in e-banking transactions.”Mobile banking transactions increased by 144% to 51.7 million, worth Rs1.3 trillion (up 178%), compared to 21.2 million transactions worth 467.5 billion in the same period last year. In comparison to the same period last year, the number of registered mobile phone banking customers increased by 20% to 9.8 million.
Similarly, during this period, 24.5 million internet banking transactions worth Rs1.5 trillion were recorded, up from Rs0.75 trillion in the same quarter last year, representing a 74 percent increase in volume and a 109 percent increase in value.
The survey indicated that on a quarterly basis, the country’s total payment transactions climbed by 2% in volume and 10% in value, totaling 402.5 million and Rs 153.6 trillion, respectively. The transaction value for PRISM increased by 15% in the current quarter, from Rs94.9 trillion in the previous quarter to Rs 109.3 trillion.
In comparison to the previous quarter, the overall use of e-Banking channels increased by 4% in volume and 5% in value. According to the central bank, the number of paper-based transactions has fallen from prior quarters, which can be attributed to an increase in general consumer use of digital channels.
According to the survey, the number of online and mobile banking customers has increased significantly in recent quarters.
The number of internet banking customers reached 4.97 million in the third quarter, up 10% from the previous quarter and 30% higher than the same quarter last year. Similarly, mobile banking users climbed by 5% quarter over quarter to 9.85 million, representing a 20% rise over the same period previous year.In the recent several quarters, e-commerce retailers have also been on an upward trend. When compared to the previous quarter, e-commerce merchants have climbed by 5% to 2,523 users, but when compared to the same period last year, a startling 62 percent increase has been seen.
“The data clearly indicate that customers are recognising the advantages of digital payment methods in our daily lives. This is in addition to customers’ growing confidence in the use of digital channels.
“This would not have been feasible without SBP’s ongoing efforts to digitise the economy, which has the potential to improve the country’s entire payment landscape,” the report stated.
In terms of payment infrastructure, commercial banks have installed 16,175 ATMs across the country, an increase of 134 ATMs over the previous quarter. Meanwhile, the banking industry has deployed almost 4,000 POS (Point of Sale) equipment, bringing the total number of POS machines deployed to an all-time high of 67,099.
Bank branches
In terms of physical presence, the study stated that Banks/MFBs reported 16,223 bank branches, with 107 being abroad branches.
“With the exception of branch 35, all branches offer online banking to their customers.
“We’ve seen a decrease in the number of branches, indicating that the industry is slowly grasping the benefits of digital payment infrastructure and the impact on the bottom line that digital channels bring to the total consumer experience.”
