Digital payments in Pakistan surge 9% in Q1 FY25: Khurram Schehzad

December 30, 2024 (MLN): Digital payments in Pakistan surged by 9% during the first quarter of FY25, with retail payments growing by 8%, per State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), said Khurram Schehzad, Adviser to Finance Minister Mohammad Aurangzeb.

Retail transactions in the quarter reached an impressive 1.951 billion, with a transaction value of Rs136 trillion (approximately $490bn), he said in a series of tweets.

Digital payment channels accounted for 87% of the transaction volume and 27% of the transaction value, showing a 3% increase.

Conversely, over-the-counter (OTC) transactions represented 13% of the volume and 73% of the value, marking a 3% decline.

Mobile Banking Apps by banks, Microfinance Banks (MFBs), Branchless Banking (BBs) and Electronic Money Institutions (EMIs) played a pivotal role in this growth, with 1.301bn transactions worth Rs19tr.

This represents 11% rise in transaction volume and a 14% increase in transaction value compared to the previous quarter, adviser to Finance Minister Mohammad Aurangzeb.

The number of mobile banking app users grew by 4%, reaching 96.5 million from 93mn in the preceding quarter.

E-commerce transactions surged, recording a 29% increase, with 118mn online payments processed during the period, he added.

Notably, 91% of these transactions were conducted through digital wallets, marking a significant shift away from traditional card-based payments.

The Point-of-Sale (POS) also expanded, with the total number of terminals rising to 132,224.

These terminals facilitated 83mn transactions worth Rs429bn, Khurram Schehzad added.

A key highlight of the period was the performance of the Raast instant payment system, which processed 197 million transactions worth Rs4.7tr.

This translated to an average transaction value of Rs24,000, significantly surpassing the 243mn ATM transactions worth Rs3.9tr, with an average transaction value of Rs16,000.

Despite ongoing ATM network expansion, the Raast system demonstrated a 50% higher value per transaction than traditional cash means.

"We still have to do much more to document the economy", Khurram Schehzad stated.

"The progress hints at the tremendous potential to leapfrog into a fully digital economy, with innovative, accessible, trustworthy, and reliable financial services, ultimately driving economic growth and financial inclusion", he added.

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