KARACHI: The trend of online and digital financial transactions has increased in Pakistan.
State Bank has released the Annual Payment System Review for FY 2024, according to which the increasing availability of digital means has led to an increase in digital payments.
In FY2024, the share of digital payments increased by 8% to 84% compared to FY23. Retail digital payments increased by around 35% while the value of digital transactions increased from 403 trillion to 547 trillion rupees. Digital payments have been boosted by increasing number of users, mobile banking apps, internet banking and mobile wallets.
According to State Bank’s assessment, the number of e-wallets users increased significantly by 85% annually during the financial year 2024. The number of mobile banking app users increased by 16 percent and internet banking users by 25 percent, while transactions through mobile apps and internet banking portals increased by 62 percent.
According to State Bank, the value of mobile apps and internet banking increased by 74% to Rs 70 trillion. 87 percent of e-commerce payments are now being made through bank accounts or digital wallets. A total of 31 crore payments were made through e-commerce with a value of Rs 406 billion.