Pakistan’s shift toward digital payments accelerated significantly during fiscal year 2025-26, with digital channels accounting for 92 percent of total retail payment transactions, according to the State Bank of Pakistan’s Annual Report on Payment Systems FY26. The share increased from 88 percent in the previous fiscal year, highlighting the growing role of mobile banking, internet banking, e-money wallets, QR payments and other electronic payment methods in everyday financial activity. Overall retail payments conducted through formal banking channels reached 14.3 billion transactions during FY26, with a combined value of Rs. 673 trillion. Transaction volume increased by 58 percent year-on-year, while the total value of payments grew by 10 percent. Of the 14.3 billion retail transactions, 13.2 billion were completed through digital channels, representing 65 percent year-on-year growth in digital transaction volumes. The figures indicate that digital payment methods are becoming increasingly integrated into consumer and business transactions across Pakistan, supported by expanding payment infrastructure and greater access to digital financial services.
Mobile phone-based payment solutions were the largest contributor to the increase, processing more than 11.1 billion transactions during the year. This represented a 79 percent increase compared with FY25 and reflects the continued shift toward smartphone-based financial activity. Internet banking also recorded growth, with online banking portals processing around 300 million transactions, an increase of 15 percent from the previous year. The expansion was accompanied by a rise in digital banking users, with branchless banking mobile app users reaching 99.1 million and users of conventional banks’ mobile applications reaching 30.4 million. These developments point to a broader shift in how customers access banking and payment services, as mobile applications increasingly serve as channels for transfers, bill payments, purchases and other routine financial activities. The growth in mobile-based transactions also comes alongside increasing availability of digital payment options through banks, branchless banking providers and electronic money institutions.
Pakistan’s merchant payment infrastructure also expanded during FY26, supporting the wider adoption of digital transactions. The country’s point-of-sale network reached 337,791 terminals across 295,367 merchant locations, compared with the previous year, while daily card payments processed through POS terminals approached 1.5 million, up from around 1 million in FY25. E-commerce also remained strongly dependent on digital payment channels, with account-based online payments accounting for 96 percent of e-commerce transactions conducted through banking channels. The State Bank has also highlighted the role of initiatives such as Raast and measures supporting QR-based merchant payments in increasing digital acceptance. According to reporting on the SBP review, the number of QR-enabled merchants increased substantially during the year, while the broader payments ecosystem continued to move toward more accessible digital alternatives. The expansion of merchant infrastructure is particularly significant because wider acceptance gives consumers more opportunities to use digital payment methods beyond transfers and banking applications.
Another significant development in Pakistan’s payment infrastructure was the introduction of PRISM+ in August 2025, which moved the country’s real-time gross settlement system to the ISO 20022 standard. The upgraded infrastructure is designed to improve the efficiency, transparency and security of payment processing across wholesale and retail payment systems. While digital channels represented 92 percent of retail payments by volume in FY26, their share by value stood at 38 percent, indicating that cash and over-the-counter channels continue to account for a significant portion of higher-value transactions. Digital payments by value increased to Rs. 257 trillion from Rs. 179 trillion in the previous fiscal year, according to reporting on the SBP review. The central bank has indicated that further progress will require greater digitisation of higher-value transactions involving businesses, government entities and financial institutions. With mobile payments, digital banking, QR acceptance, e-commerce payments and payment infrastructure all expanding, Pakistan’s FY26 figures mark another major step in the transition toward a more digitally connected payments ecosystem.
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