State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) appreciates impressive growth in
mobile and internet banking
The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has released its Annual Payment Systems Review for the fiscal year 2022-23, revealing the ongoing transformation of Pakistan's financial landscape driven by digital banking. Mobile and internet banking transactions have seen impressive growth, with volumes rising by 57% and values by 81% annually. This surge can be attributed to the growing preference among consumers for digital channels to fulfill their financial requirements.
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The review highlights the following key findings:
E-Banking Growth:
E-banking transactions through traditional banks and Microfinance Banks (MFBs)
increased by 29% in volume and 21% in value during the year.
Branchless Banking Surge:
Branchless Banking (BBs) transactions also followed a similar growth pattern,
with transactions increasing by 28% in number and 45% in value during FY23.
Increased User Base: The
number of e-banking users saw substantial growth, with a 15% increase in internet
banking users, a 30% increase in mobile banking users, and a 42% increase in BB
mobile app users. Electronic Money Institutions (EMIs) contributed by opening
over 2 million e-wallets since their inception.
Decline in Paper-Based
Transactions: In contrast, paper-based transactions declined by over 4%
during FY23 and around 20% cumulatively in the last five years. However, the
value of paper-based transactions increased by 20% in FY23.
Payment Systems: SBP's
Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) system and Raast – Pakistan’s Instant Payment
System, facilitated financial institutions and customers in processing and
settling transactions. RTGS processed 4.9 million transactions totaling Rs640.4
trillion, while Raast processed 155 million transactions totaling Rs3.2
trillion during the fiscal year.
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Infrastructure Expansion:
Financial institutions are expanding their e-banking infrastructure, including
Point-of-Sale (POS) terminals, Automated Teller Machines (ATMs), Cash/Cheque
Deposit Machines (CDMs), e-commerce merchants, and agents' networks to cater to
customer needs. As of June 30, 2023, there were 115,288 POS terminals, 17,808
ATMs, 520 CDMs, and 6,889 e-commerce merchants providing payment services.
Card Transactions:
Domestic e-commerce transactions using payment cards reached 31.8 million,
amounting to Rs142 billion during the year. There were 58.1 million payment
cards in circulation, with 44.5 million issued by traditional banks and MFBs,
10.8 million by branchless banks, and 2.8 million by EMIs.
The report showcases the significant impact of digital banking on Pakistan's financial landscape and underscores the importance of continued innovation and infrastructure development in the digital payment ecosystem.
Source: Mettis Global