KARACHI:
The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has released its Quarterly Payment Systems Review for the second quarter (Oct-Dec) of financial year 2024-25, which reflects notable changes in digital payments.
The report highlights that the digital payment landscape in Pakistan is becoming stronger, with an increase in transactions during 2QFY25. Retail transactions registered an increase of 11% in volume, reaching 2,143 million, while their value rose by 12% to Rs154 trillion.
The growth in value was primarily driven by mobile banking app payments, internet banking payments and over-the-counter (OTC) transactions at bank branches.
The report stated that digital payment channels now account for 88% of all retail transactions by volume, mirroring an increasing shift towards electronic payments, with mobile app-based banking playing a crucial role.
These platforms which include mobile banking apps, branchless banking (BB) wallets and e-money wallets collectively processed 1,450 million transactions worth Rs24 trillion, marking a 12% increase in volume and 28% increase in value.
The number of users leveraging digital banking services also saw a steady rise. Mobile banking app users grew to 21 million (7%), e-money and BB wallet users increased to 4.7 million (13%) and 64.3 million (7%), respectively, while internet banking users reached 13.3 million (7%).
Furthermore, merchant payments through digital means also expanded during the second quarter. Digital e-commerce transactions increased by 30% in volume to 152 million, amounting to Rs193 billion (32%). By volume, 8% (12.8 million) of the e-commerce transactions were made through cards, 92% (139.5 million) through digital wallets/accounts, while by value, this share was 33% and 67%, respectively.
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