A mobile phone shop is pictured in southern Pakistani port city of Karachi on Dec. 24, 2022. (Str/Xinhua)
ISLAMABAD, Dec. 24 (Xinhua) -- With increased use of mobile phones and the internet, Pakistan witnessed a surge in digital payments during fiscal year 2021-22 (July 2021-June 2022), according to officials of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).
The SBP has taken appropriate measures to strengthen payments system infrastructure and regulatory framework in the country in recent years, resulting in increased accessibility and lower costs of financial services for customers especially through digital channels, the officials said on Saturday quoting a report from the SBP.
According to the report, the number of mobile phones and internet banking users reached 8.4 million and 12.3 million, respectively, during fiscal year 2021-22, adding that in terms of transactions, mobile phone banking increased by 100.4 percent to 387.5 million, while internet banking grew by 51.7 percent to 141.7 million during the year.
By value, mobile phone banking and internet banking growth was 141.1 percent and 81.1 percent, reaching 11.9 trillion rupees (52.8 billion U.S. dollars) and 10.2 trillion rupees, respectively, said the report.
E-commerce transactions also witnessed similar trends as the volume grew by 107.4 percent to 45.5 million and the value by 74.9 percent to 106 billion rupees, the report said.
Similarly, e-commerce merchants registered with banks increased to 4,887 from 3,003 merchants during the period. The Automated Teller Machines (ATM) network in the country also grew by 4.8 percent during the last fiscal year, reaching 17,133 ATMs.
The central bank said measures such as promoting and developing interoperable payments infrastructure, issuing enabling regulations especially for retail payment providers, ensuring the trust and security of digital payment channels, and promoting new technologies, led to the surge in digital payment systems in the South Asian country. (1 U.S. dollar equals 225 Pakistani rupees) ■
