Digital payments accounted for 92 percent of all retail payment transactions in Pakistan during fiscal year 2025-26, with their volume rising 65 percent year-on-year to 13.2 billion transactions, according to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).

The latest figures show how quickly consumers are shifting routine payments toward mobile apps, internet banking, e-wallets, QR payments, and other digital channels.

Pakistan recorded 14.3 billion retail payment transactions through formal banking channels during FY26, up 58 percent from the previous year. These transactions had a combined value of Rs. 673 trillion, which increased 10 percent year-on-year.

The share of digital transactions also increased significantly, rising from 88 percent in FY25 to 92 percent in FY26.

Mobile-based payments remained the main driver of this growth. More than 11.1 billion transactions were made through mobile phone-based solutions, marking a 79 percent increase over the previous year.

Internet banking recorded around 0.3 billion transactions during the year, up 15 percent year-on-year.

The growing use of digital payments was accompanied by an expansion in payment infrastructure. Pakistan had 337,791 point-of-sale terminals operating across 295,367 merchant locations by the end of FY26.

These terminals processed nearly 1.5 million card payments every day, compared with about 1 million daily transactions in the previous fiscal year.

The number of users relying on mobile banking also continued to climb. Branchless banking mobile app users reached 99.1 million, while users of bank mobile apps stood at 30.4 million.

Digital payments also dominated e-commerce transactions. Account-based online payments represented 96 percent of e-commerce transactions processed through banking channels.

The SBP said the growth reflects the increasing use of digital payment channels by consumers, businesses, and financial institutions, supported by improvements in digital infrastructure and policy initiatives.

During FY26, the central bank also introduced PRISM+ in August 2025, shifting Pakistan’s RTGS system to the ISO 20022 standard. The upgraded system is intended to improve the efficiency, transparency, and security of payment processing.