60% Mobile Banking, Yet 70% Value Offline

Pakistan’s banking sector is undergoing a digital shift, marked by a surge in mobile and internet banking usage. At the same time, traditional banking remains dominant for high-value transactions.

According to data from Digital Financial Services Group State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), during the second quarter of FY25 (October–December 2024), retail payment data from Pakistan reveals a notable shift toward digital and mobile banking solutions. A total of 2,143 million transactions were recorded across various payment channels during this period.

Mobile banking emerged as the dominant channel, accounting for 60% of all transactions which is a strong indicator of the country’s growing reliance on digital financial services. Other key transaction channels included merchant payments (12%), ATM transactions (12%), branchless banking (6%), bank branches (7%), and direct debit (0.03%).

In terms of transaction value, the total retail payments reached PKR 154 trillion. Despite the surge in digital usage, 70% of this value was still processed through bank branches, highlighting the continued importance of traditional banking for high-value transactions. Mobile banking accounted for 16% of the transaction value, followed by internet banking at 6%. ATMs and merchants contributed 3% and 0.5%, respectively, while direct debit and branchless banking agents each accounted for 4% and 0.5%.

Pakistan’s financial landscape shows a dual trend of digital banking rising in transaction volume, while traditional methods dominate in value. This highlights both the digital shift and continued trust in conventional banking for large transactions.