Pakistan’s move towards digital banking continued to gather pace during the first three months of 2026, with customers making 3.4 billion digital transactions worth Rs68 trillion, according to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).
The central bank’s Quarterly Payment Systems Report, covering January to March 2026, showed that more people are choosing mobile banking apps, internet banking, digital wallets and payment cards instead of cash for everyday financial activities.
Consumers are increasingly using these platforms to transfer money, pay utility bills, shop online and make payments at stores. The shift reflects growing confidence in digital banking, helped by wider smartphone use and better internet access across the country.
The report showed that registrations for mobile banking and digital wallet apps climbed to more than 132 million by the end of March, up from 96 million a year earlier. This represents a 37 percent increase.
Internet banking registrations also continued to rise, reaching 16.2 million. Based on 268 million bank accounts recorded by December 2025, almost half of all accounts are now linked to either a mobile banking app or a digital wallet.
Mobile apps dominate digital payments
Mobile banking apps remained the country’s most popular digital payment method during the quarter.
Apps operated by banks, branchless banking providers and electronic money institutions handled 2.9 billion transactions worth Rs42 trillion. These accounted for 78 percent of all digital payments and were widely used for person-to-person transfers, bill payments and purchases made both online and in physical stores.
Internet banking also expanded during the quarter. The number of transactions increased by 5 percent, while the total value of those payments grew by 19 percent.
Pakistan’s instant payment platform Raast also continued its rapid growth. It processed 742.1 million transactions worth Rs23.3 trillion during the quarter.
Most of these were person-to-person transfers, which reached 664 million transactions valued at Rs18.9 trillion, marking a 10 percent increase from the previous quarter. Merchant payments through Raast also increased sharply, rising to 55.9 million transactions from 36.3 million in the previous quarter.
Overall, Pakistan recorded 3.7 billion retail payment transactions worth Rs168.8 trillion through formal banking and payment channels during the January to March period.
According to the SBP, 92 percent of these payments were made through digital channels, including mobile banking apps, internet banking, ATMs, point-of-sale terminals, e-commerce platforms, USSD services and call centre banking. Retail payment volumes also increased by 9 percent compared with the previous quarter.
Traditional banking services remained widely used alongside digital channels. Across the country, 20,232 bank branches and more than 819,000 banking agents continued providing over-the-counter services such as cash deposits, withdrawals, fund transfers and bill payments.
Bank branches processed 128 million transactions worth Rs99.5 trillion during the quarter, while banking agents handled 155 million transactions valued at Rs1.1 trillion.
The latest figures point to Pakistan’s continued shift towards a more digital, efficient and accessible payment system as consumers increasingly move away from cash for routine financial transactions.
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