Pakistan reports a retail payments increase to $592 billion in the first quarter of FY26, according to a report.

According to a study by the central bank, Pakistan’s retail payments reached Rs166 trillion [$592 billion] in the first quarter of the current fiscal year, reflecting a six percent growth compared to the previous quarter.

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said in its quarterly analysis of payment systems that retail payment volumes increased to 2.8 billion transactions, reflecting a 10% growth compared to the previous quarter. The payments’ value escalated to $592 billion during the corresponding time.

The SBP study stated, “This expansion was primarily driven by the ongoing increase in mobile app-based banking.”

The data indicated that digital payment channels comprised 2.5 billion transactions, constituting 90% of overall retail payments, an increase from 87% in the same quarter of the previous year.

The central bank reported that mobile app-based payments prevailed in the digital sphere, with 2 billion transactions executed via applications provided by banks, branchless banking (BB) entities, and electronic money institutions (EMIs).

The SBP research indicated that these transactions represented 81% of total digital payments, totaling PKR 33.7 trillion [$120.3 billion] in value.

Internet banking experienced a consistent growth, with the data indicating a rising number of customers performing transactions via digital platforms.

The State Bank of Pakistan reported that the number of payment cards in circulation rose to 61.3 million, with 90% being debit cards and 4% credit cards.

The report indicated that a network of 20,527 ATMs enabled 267 million transactions nationwide during the quarter, totaling Rs4.5 trillion [$16.1 billion].

The SBP stated, “These developments collectively indicate ongoing advancement towards a more inclusive, efficient, and digitally enabled payments ecosystem in Pakistan.”