The number of transactions for mobile phone banking increased by 100% to 387.5 million in fiscal year 2021-22 as banking through cellphones gained acceptance as an alternative channel for e-banking transactions, said the Payment Systems Review for FY22.
The report, released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Friday, presented major developments in the payment eco-system of the country.
Mobile phone banking users as of end-June 2022 were 12.3 million while in FY21 there were 10.9 million registered users. A total of 387.5 million and 193.4 million transactions were performed by the registered users during FY22 and FY21 respectively.
The value of transactions increased more than twofold and reached Rs11.9 trillion by June 30, 2022. In terms of percentage growth, the volume of transactions grew by 100.4% while the value rose by 141.1% on a year-on-year basis.
“Rising penetration of smartphones and availability of internet has resulted in people’s increasing preference towards mobile phone banking,” the SBP said in the report.
Internet banking has also become more common in Pakistan in recent years due to a variety of services and options provided by banks and microfinance banks (MFBs) as well as increased availability of economical internet facility.
“People can now transfer funds through their accounts quickly and conveniently. Customers can pay utility bills, education fees, mobile top-ups, online purchases and many more with just a few clicks,” the SBP said.
During FY22, a total of 141.7 million internet transactions were processed having value of Rs10.2 trillion, almost double from the previous fiscal year (Rs5.7 trillion).
In terms of YoY growth, internet banking users increased by 59.8% (3.1 million) while the volume and value of transactions grew by 51.7% and 81.1% respectively.
In continuation of efforts to promote and enhance digital payments, the SBP launched the Raast Person-to-Person (P2P), which enabled payments among individuals, businesses and other entities to settle transactions in real time.
According to the report, as of June 2022, there were 15 million registered P2P Raast users, carrying out 7.9 million transactions amounting to Rs102.1 billion.
During FY22, a total of 32,958 Point-of-Sale (POS) machines were deployed in the country, which led to an expansion of its network by 45.8% to 104,865.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 24th, 2022.
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