KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has released its Quarterly Report on Payment Systems for the
quarter October to December 2025. The report presents an overview of key payment trends of
both low-value (Retail) and high-value (RTGS) transactions conducted through formal banking
and payment channels.
According to the report, 3.4 billion retail transactions were performed, out of which 92% were
conducted through digital channels as compared to 88% during the same quarter last year. The
number of retail transactions has increased by 8 percent from the previous quarter, while its value
by 7 percent, reaching PKR 167 trillion.
The number of payments through the digital channel reached 3.1 billion, amounting to PKR 64
trillion, reflecting the growing adoption of digital payment methods across the economy. Mobile
app-based payments continued to dominate the digital landscape, with 2.6 billion transactions
conducted through apps offered by branchless banking (BB) players, banks, and EMIs.
The transactions accounted for 83 percent of all digital payments. They amounted to PKR 40 trillion in
value, supporting a wide range of services including person-to-person transfers, bill payments,
and account and wallet-based merchant payments across online platforms and physical retail
outlets. Internet banking also recorded steady growth, with transaction volume and value
increasing by 11 percent and 22 percent, respectively.
During the quarter, Raast Instant Payment System continues to maintain strong growth
momentum, processing 645.7 million transactions valuing PKR 18.5 trillion. Person-to-Person
(P2P) Transactions rose to 603 million, up 13 percent, with a value of PKR 15.7 trillion.
Raast P2M transactions on the other hand, increased to 33.6 million, amounting to PKR 167.6
billion. Over 9 million transactions worth PKR 2.6 trillion were processed by the government and
corporates using Raast Bulk Service, showing rapid adoption of Raast for business and
government payments.
The number of payment cards in circulation rose to 66.7 million, with debit cards comprising 87
percent of the total and credit cards accounted for 5 percent only. While the rest include social
welfare cards and prepaid cards. Point-of-sale (PoS) terminals and e-commerce activity using
cards continued to expand, collectively processing around 1.7 million card-based transactions
per day. Meanwhile, a nationwide network of 20,976 ATMs facilitated 277 million transactions
amounting to PKR 4.9 trillion during the period.
In addition, 20,143 bank branches and 763,262 banking agents provided Over-the-Counter (OTC)
services such as cash deposits, withdrawals, fund transfers, and bill payments. Bank branches
processed 138 million transactions valued at PKR 102 trillion, while banking agents facilitated
135 million transactions amounting to PKR 0.9 trillion.
