ISLAMABAD: E-banking transactions grew by 12 percent in volume and 16 percent in value in the first quarter of Fiscal Year 2021-22, the Pakistani central bank said on Monday, as the country’s payment ecosystem continued to grow at a fast pace.
These transactions were conducted via electronic channels, including real-time online branches, ATMs, mobile banking, Internet banking, call center banking, Point of Sale (PoS) and e-commerce.
Two major areas where high adoption in digital payments was witnessed were mobile and Internet banking, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said in its first quarterly report of payment systems, covering the period July 2021 till September 2021.
“The number of mobile banking users grew by 4 percent on quarter over quarter (QoQ) basis, reaching a total of 11.3 million. The number of transactions conducted via mobile banking channels was 79.1 million with a value of around PKR 2.2 trillion, showing a QoQ growth of 29 percent by volume and 36 percent by value,” the SBP report read.
“Internet banking also contributed to the upswing in usage of e-Banking services by registering 31 percent QoQ growth in Internet banking users who conducted 30 million transactions amounting to PKR 1.9 trillion. This amounts to 6 percent progress in terms of volume and 10 percent increase in the value of these transactions on QoQ basis.”
The retail banking sector continued to show adoption of digital payments, while overall e-commerce transactions recorded an impressive QoQ growth of 87 percent by volume and 21 percent by value, though the number of e-commerce merchants remained almost the same as of the last quarter, according to the report.
During the quarter, 12.7 million e-commerce-related transactions amounting to Rs22.3 billion were conducted using digital payment channels. Similarly, the number of merchant POS machines increased by 10 percent QoQ, reaching to 79,134 in the country. These machines processed 28.1 million card-based transactions at merchant locations, amounting to almost Rs134.9 billion, which showed QoQ increase of 16.1 percent by volume and 10.6 percent by value.
As of end-September 2021, the report said, there were 46.2 million total cards in circulation, which mainly comprised debit cards (64 percent), social welfare cards (22 percent), ATM-only cards (10 percent), credit cards (4 percent) and prepaid cards (0.3 percent).
Paper-based transactions recorded an increase of 5 percent in volume and 3 percent in value, which may be attributed to people returning to bank branches as pandemic-related restrictions were eased.
In large-value or wholesale payment segment, transactions processed through the Pakistan Real-Time Interbank Settlement Mechanism (PRISM) recorded a total of 1.1 million transactions amounting to Rs159.1 trillion, which was 7 percent higher than the preceding quarter.
Pakistan e-banking transactions grew by 12 percent in first quarter of FY2022 — central bank
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Pakistan e-banking transactions grew by 12 percent in first quarter of FY2022 — central bank
- Number of mobile banking users grew by 4 percent, e-banking usage rose by 31 percent
- Overall e-commerce transactions recorded an impressive QoQ growth of 87 percent by volume
Pakistani stocks breach 176,000 points barrier as investors expect further rate cuts
- Pakistani financial analyst attributes surge to falling inflation, investors expecting further policy rate cuts
- Pakistan’s finance ministry said Thursday that inflation had slowed to 5.6 percent year-on-year in December
KARACHI: Pakistani stocks continued their bullish run on Thursday, breaching the 176,000 points barrier for the first time after trading ended, with analysts attributing the surge to investors expecting further cuts in the policy rate.
The KSE-100 benchmark gained 2,301.17 points at close of business on Thursday, marking an increase of 1.32 percent to settle at 176,355.49 points.
Pakistan’s central bank cut its key policy rate by 50 basis points to 10.5 percent last month, breaking a four-meeting hold in a move that surprised markets. Pakistan’s consumer price inflation slowed to 5.6 percent year-on-year in December, while prices fell on a monthly basis as per data from the finance ministry.
“Upbeat data for consumer price index (CPI) inflation at 5.6pc in December 2025 [with] investors expecting a further State Bank of Pakistan rate cuts on falling inflation data,” Ahsan Mehanti, CEO of Arif Habib Commodities Ltd., told Arab News.
The stock market witnessed a trading volume of 1,402.650 million shares, with a traded value of Rs48.424 billion ($173 million), compared with 957.239 million shares valued at Rs44.231 billion ($158 million) during the previous session.
Topline Securities, a leading brokerage firm in Pakistan, credited the surge to strong buying at the first session.
“This positivity can be accredited to buying by local institutions on the start of the new calendar year,” it said.
Pakistan’s Finance Adviser Khurram Schehzad highlighted that the bullish trend at the stock market reflected “strong investor confidence.”
“With lower inflation, affordable fuel, stronger reserves, rising digitization and a buoyant capital market, Pakistan’s economic outlook is clearly improving--supporting greater confidence, better investment sentiment and more positive momentum for 2026,” he said on social media platform X.
