Pakistan’s Financial Inclusion Index (P-FII) increased to 59.5 in 2025 from 58.1 in 2024, reflecting continued progress in access to and usage of formal financial services across the country. The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) released the latest results under its financial inclusion framework, showing improvement across the three major dimensions measured by the index: Access, Usage and Quality. The latest increase highlights the growing role of digital financial services, payment infrastructure and expanded banking channels in bringing more individuals and businesses into the formal financial system. According to the SBP, the P-FII is designed to measure financial inclusion beyond simple account ownership by assessing 69 indicators covering banking, non-banking and payment services offered by banks and financial institutions. The index is benchmarked against targets that the central bank aims to achieve by 2030, providing a broader picture of how Pakistan’s financial ecosystem is developing.
The improvement during 2025 was driven primarily by a substantial rise in the Usage sub-index, while the Access and Quality dimensions also recorded gains. The SBP attributed the positive movement to digital initiatives being implemented under the National Financial Inclusion Strategy (NFIS) 2024–28. Among the key developments identified were increased merchant onboarding through Raast, the expansion of the wider digital payments ecosystem, the introduction of digital banks and campaigns aimed at encouraging account openings. These developments indicate that financial inclusion is increasingly being measured not only by whether people have access to an account, but also by how actively they use formal financial services. The growing adoption of digital channels can allow consumers and businesses to make payments, receive funds and access financial products without relying solely on traditional physical banking infrastructure. The SBP has positioned financial inclusion as an important part of developing a more accessible and sustainable financial ecosystem, with greater usage and quality of financial services remaining central objectives.
Raast and the broader digital payments ecosystem have emerged as important components of this progress. Merchant onboarding on Raast is helping expand the acceptance side of digital payments, while the presence of digital banks is adding new channels through which consumers can access financial services. Account-opening initiatives are also contributing to wider participation in the formal financial system. The progress comes alongside broader developments in Pakistan’s financial sector, including increased adoption of mobile and online banking and continued expansion of digital payment services. The SBP’s latest assessment therefore reflects a wider shift in the financial sector toward digital access and usage. At the same time, financial literacy and consumer-focused initiatives remain important because increased availability of financial products does not necessarily translate into meaningful inclusion unless consumers understand how to use those services safely and effectively. The SBP specifically identified consumer orientation and financial literacy efforts as factors supporting the improvement recorded during the year.
The rise in the P-FII also comes against a backdrop of continued expansion in financial services for underserved segments. Pakistan’s microfinance sector, for example, recorded 13.3 million active borrowers and a gross loan portfolio of Rs858.5 billion by December 2025, highlighting the scale of formal financial services reaching lower-income households and microenterprises. The SBP’s NFIS 2024–28 provides the broader policy framework for improving access, usage and quality across the financial system, while the P-FII offers a way to track progress against these objectives. Although the increase from 58.1 to 59.5 represents a relatively modest year-on-year improvement, it signals continued movement toward wider participation in formal finance. Further development of digital banking, merchant acceptance, payment infrastructure, financial literacy and consumer-oriented services could play an important role in sustaining this trajectory as Pakistan works toward its longer-term financial inclusion targets.
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