In a major stride toward transforming the country’s retail financial landscape, State Bank of Pakistan Governor Jameel Ahmad has inaugurated the launch of a new co-badged debit card developed through a partnership between Habib Bank Limited, UnionPay International, and PayPak. The central bank chief characterized this launch as a critical milestone in building a modern, resilient, and inclusive digital payments ecosystem. The collaborative payment solution aligns with the broader national vision of transitioning into a cashless economy and is designed to leverage both domestic payment rails and international networks on a single payment instrument.
Speaking at the launch ceremony in Karachi, Governor Ahmad emphasized that this initiative represents the long-term vision of the central bank to position PayPak as a highly secure, cost-effective, and locally governed domestic payment scheme. By co-badging PayPak with a major global payment player like UnionPay International, the solution equips Pakistani consumers with the dual advantage of navigating domestic payment terminals seamlessly while enjoying global transaction access when traveling abroad. The integration directly supports the targets laid out in SBP Vision 2028 and the government’s digital transaction goals, which aim to establish a financial system that is robust, deeply digitized, and less vulnerable to external shocks.
The governor stressed that the ultimate goal of the central bank is not digitization for its own sake, but rather the creation of a convenient, safe, and friction-free transacting environment for both corporate entities and everyday retail consumers. He shared recent data highlighting the rapid pace of digital finance adoption across the country to back up this vision. Over the past year, the volume of retail digital transactions in Pakistan climbed dramatically from nearly six point nine billion transactions to approximately twelve billion transactions. In tandem with this transaction boom, the active merchant ecosystem accepting digital payments expanded from half a million to over two million unique businesses.
Further indicators of the country’s accelerating digital transition include the massive surge in mobile banking applications, with active users now hovering around one hundred and thirty-seven million. Additionally, the percentage of international home remittances credited directly through digital channels has jumped from eighty percent to ninety-two percent over the last year. According to Governor Ahmad, these metrics collectively demonstrate a profound shift in public trust toward digital financial systems and illustrate that the country is steadily transitioning away from cash-heavy operations.
To protect and sustain this momentum, the governor highlighted that domestic payment systems, specifically PayPak and the Raast instant payment gateway, must remain at the very core of the domestic digital infrastructure. He noted that as disruptive technologies continuously alter the landscape of banking, Pakistan’s underlying payment architecture must remain secure, highly resilient, and future-ready. To promote national sovereignty in payments, he instructed that domestic card issuances should prioritize PayPak as the default option, while co-badged cards should be issued selectively to customers who explicitly require international functionality.
The future viability of PayPak will rely heavily on continuous technical innovation and a high degree of collaborative ownership among commercial banks, fintechs, and microfinance institutions. Governor Ahmad concluded his address by urging traditional banks, newly licensed digital banks, payment service providers, and merchant acquirers to rapidly scale up digital acceptance points, upgrade cybersecurity measures, and prioritize customer-centric service delivery. He congratulated HBL, 1LINK, PayPak, and UnionPay International for delivering a partnership that shows how local infrastructure and global networks can cooperate to accelerate financial inclusion.
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