On Friday, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) released its annual report, which focuses on the significant advancements that will be made in the national payment ecosystem between the years 2023 and 2024. The report emphasizes the remarkable growth of digital payments, which is being driven by the increasing availability and adoption of digital payment channels, indicating that customers across the nation are increasingly relying on these systems.
The report shows how banking in the country has changed clearly. The ongoing shift toward digital payment in Pakistan’s payment landscape is detailed in the report.
“The retail installments have seen uncommon development in FY24, with the volume of exchanges ascending from 4.7 billion to 6.4bn, and the worth of these exchanges expanding from Rs403 trillion to Rs547tr — a development of around 35pc in both volume and worth,” said the report.
According to the report, “Importantly, the share of digital payments by volume has surged from 76 percent in FY23 to 84 percent in FY24.”
According to the report, this growth can be attributed to the rising number of people who use digital channels, which is made easier by the convenience and variety of products offered by mobile wallets, internet banking portals, and mobile banking apps.
“Portable application banking clients expanded by 16pc, web banking clients by 25pc, while Branchless Banking (BB) versatile application wallet clients became by 2pc, and e-wallet clients by 85pc yearly during FY24,” said the report.
Digital payments made through internet banking portals and mobile banking apps, which collectively saw a 62 percent increase in transactions to 1,346 million and a 74 percent increase in transaction value to Rs70 trillion, are also emphasized in the report. Additionally, versatile application based wallets experienced significant development, with clients making 2,697m installments through their BB portable application wallets and 85 million through EMIs’ e-wallets.
The extension of the POS (retail location) machine network has likewise added to the development, with the quantity of POS machines expanding by 8.9pc to 125,593, supporting card-based exchanges at a developing number of retail outlets and stores. Internet business installments have likewise seen a wonderful shift, with 87pc of computerized installments for internet business presently being started through ledgers or computerized wallets.
According to the report, “a total of 309m e-commerce payments were made during FY24, with a transaction value of Rs406bn.”
Pakistan is positioned as a regional leader in digital financial services thanks to the SBP report’s emphasis on the resilience and robustness of the country’s payment infrastructure.
According to the report, “The SBP remains committed to fostering innovation and further strengthening the digital financial landscape in Pakistan” as the payment ecosystem continues to evolve.
