Annual growth in digital transactions is 57 percent.

The central bank's Annual Payment Systems Review for the fiscal year 2022–2023 made the information public. The analysis shows the development and trends in banking transactions as well as how the nation uses the tools and infrastructure of payment systems.

According to the yearly study, digital transactions kept expanding as a result of customers' growing preference for using mobile and internet banking to handle their financial demands.

The Review added that a growth pattern was also observed in Branchless Banking (BBs) transactions with a number of transactions increasing by 28% and value by 45% during FY23. E-Banking transactions through Banks and Microfinance Banks (MFBs) grew by 29% while value increased by 21% during the year.

The SBP said that e-banking users also rose considerably throughout the year, with a 15% increase in internet banking users, a 30% increase in mobile banking users, and a 42% increase in users of the BB smartphone app.

By creating more than 2 million e-wallets since their establishment, Electronic Money Institutions (EMIs) have also made a significant contribution to the inclusion of users of digital banking.

According to the Review, e-banking was gaining more customers because of its quick and efficient payment options, and its transactions had been increasing steadily over time. In contrast, paper-based transactions had decreased by more than 4% in FY23 and by a total of about 20% over the previous five years. However, it said, the value of paper-based transactions rose by 20% in FY23.

The processing and settlement of transactions is made easier for financial institutions and banking consumers by the Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) system of Pakistan and Raast, Pakistan's Instant Payment System, which is owned and run by SBP.

During the year, 4.9 million transactions totaling Rs. 640.4 trillion were handled using RTGS, while 155 million transactions totaling PKR 3.2 trillion were conducted through Raast.

According to the SBP, financial institutions are also bolstering their e-banking infrastructure by increasing the networks of e-commerce merchants, agents, and Point-of-Sale (POS) terminals, Automated Teller Machines (ATMs), Cash/Cheque Deposit Machines (CDMs), to better serve their clients.

There were 115,288 POS terminals, 17,808 ATMs, 520 CDMs, and 6,889 e-commerce businesses available to clients as of June 30, 2023. The number of transactions made at POS (199.3 million) and ATMs (809.7 million) increased yearly by 45% and 17%, respectively, during the fiscal year.

Homegrown internet business exchanges utilizing installment cards were 31.8 million which added up to Rs. 142 billion during the year, the audit expressed adding that as of June 30, 2023, there were 58.1 million installment cards available for use of which 44.5 million were given by banks and MFBs, 10.8 million by branchless banks, and 2.8 million by EMIs.