SBP releases payment systems review for 2QFY24

March 13, 2024 (MLN): State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has released its Quarterly Payment Systems Review for the second quarter of the fiscal year 2023-24, which showcases significant progress in Pakistan's payment ecosystem.

The user base of the payments infrastructure experienced growth in the second quarter of fiscal year 2023-24.

Mobile and Internet Banking remains the preferred mode of digital transactions for Pakistanis.

Mobile and Internet Banking Users reached 16 million and 11m indicating a quarterly growth rate of 8% and 5%, respectively.

Encouragingly, the number of e-wallets registered with EMIs also increased by 15% to 2.7m during the quarter marking a more than twofold increase in last four quarters.

In addition, over 67m m-wallets were registered with Branchless Banking (BB) service providers.

During Q2-FY24, retail transactions processed by Banks, MFBs and EMIs, witnessed a quarterly growth of 15%, a significant increase compared to the 5% growth in the previous quarter.

During the quarter under review, volume of digital transactions constituted 82% of the overall retail transactions, compared to 80% during the previous quarter.

However, in terms of value, over-the-counter (OTC) transactions constituted 85% share of the overall retail transactions.

In the same quarter, more than 90% of the retail fund transfers and 73% of bill payments/mobile top-ups were conducted using digital channels.

Last quarter, this share was 88% and 68% respectively.

Raast (Instant Payment System) and PRISM (Real Time Gross Settlement System) significantly contributed to the digital financial services nationwide.

Raast, an instant payment solution in Pakistan, played a pivotal role by facilitating 107m funds transfer transactions free of cost, totaling more than Rs2 trillion in Q2-FY24.

In the same quarter, RTGS processed 1.5m large-value payments, amounting to Rs273tr.

Breaking down the values of RTGS, 29% were attributed to funds transfer settlements, 70% to government securities settlements, and 1% to clearing transactions settlements.

Pakistan’s payments infrastructure consists of 33 Banks, 11 Microfinance Banks (MFBs), 5 Payment

System Operators/Service Providers (PSOs/PSPs), 5 Electronic Money Institutions (EMIs), the Real-Time

Gross Settlement System PRISM, Raast Instant Payment System, and various Fintechs.

As of the end of the 2nd quarter of the fiscal year 2023-24, Banks and MFBs were offering their services through a network of 18,178 branches, 18,441 ATMs, 121,987 POS machines, and E-commerce payment gateways serving 7,630 registered e-merchants.

In addition, 16 banks and MFBs were also providing Branchless Banking (BB) services, broadening the accessibility of banking services.

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