Over the past few years, Pakistan's economy has undergone a significant transformation. From the rising tide of e-commerce and gig work, the proliferation of social and digital media, the economy is inching towards modernisation, albeit unevenly.
FINANCIAL INCLUSION
Over the past few years, Pakistan's economy has undergone a significant transformation. From the rising tide of e-commerce and gig work, the proliferation of social and digital media, the economy is inching towards modernisation, albeit unevenly.
While the Covid-19 pandemic acted as a digital accelerant, pushing both businesses and consumers to adopt digital finance, the government of Pakistan’s cashless economy initiative represents its resolve to digitise both the public and private sectors, making Pakistan financially inclusive.
In a country where cash-in-circulation still dominates the transaction landscape, the question of whether financially inclusive Pakistan is a distant dream or a distorted reality remains. Its answer, however, lies somewhere in between.
When easypaisa launched Pakistan’s first branchless mobile money transfer solution, the term financial inclusion was barely part of the national conversation. Fast forward to 2025, having become Pakistan’s first digital retail bank that democratises a full range of digital financial services for every Pakistani, regardless of their socio-economic background or geographic location, the landscape has undergone a significant transformation.
Over the past decade, we have witnessed the rise and fall of numerous fintech companies in Pakistan; easypaisa has grown from a simple money transfer service to a full-fledged digital financial ecosystem, offering payments, wealth management, insurance and credit to over 55 million registered users across the country, enabling these services for communities that previously had no access to them. According to the State Bank of Pakistan, mobile banking, e-money, and branchless wallets now serve over 96 million users, with growing transaction volumes. Mobile wallets and digital banking apps play a pivotal role in extending access to underbanked communities.
Strides were made in the right direction. The launch of SBP-led initiatives like the Raast instant payment system has facilitated over 1.5 billion transactions worth Rs34 trillion, while state-level initiatives like digital public infrastructure and the digitisation of NADRA services are reinforcing the shift from cash to digital. Private sector innovation and partnerships with global players like Visa, Mastercard and AliPay have further expanded financial access. These are wins we must acknowledge, but also remember that progress is not the same as parity.
Scratch beneath the surface, and a different reality begins to emerge. While access to accounts has improved, active usage remains worryingly low. Many wallets are opened, only to receive government cash transfers or occasional remittances. The merchant and retail space in Pakistan remains untapped, with cash still dominating retail transactions, and this gap is not entirely due to technology; it is due to a lack of trust in the digital ecosystem and missing policy incentives to create the shift from cheaper cash to digital means.
With Pakistan’s informal economy estimated between $150 billion and $180 billion, it is our collective need to build an ecosystem where women entrepreneurs from southern Punjab, farmers from Layyah, tailors in Tharparkar and fruit vendors in Gilgit-Baltistan are not just surviving but thriving
So, how do we get there? The private sector needs to continue innovating tech-enabled fraud prevention systems and raise awareness among customers about prevalent scams. Financial institutions also need to become more adept at detecting potential fraudulent behavior through behavioral analysis, while reducing false positives and streamlining the customer experience provided. Stronger authentication measures in collaboration with NADRA will help build customer trust to engage in the digital ecosystem.
At the same time, policymakers are partnering with the private sector to implement large-scale sectoral reforms, building the necessary digital public infrastructure and rails required for Digital Pakistan. The private sector needs to increase digital literacy to overcome trust deficits in rural and marginalised communities, working on interoperability issues that hinder seamless transactions between platforms and providing necessary digital financial tools available for all at every customer touchpoint. At the same time, policymakers need relevant interventions to make cash more expensive and create the necessary customer value proposition to shift higher-value transactions also through the digital ecosystem.
These challenges are systemic, but not impossible. What’s required is coordinated action from banks, fintechs, regulators, and stakeholders, including telecom companies, governments, policymakers and development partners. Collective action is the only real way to achieve our goal. The Cashless Economy initiative is a sign of the government's commitment to enabling digitisation across the entire public and private sectors. The execution of critical and bold financial policies that enable a digital Pakistan will define our collective success as a digital nation.
For years, financial inclusion has been viewed under the scope of social impact, charity, or compliance. This Financial Inclusion Week should mark the beginning of change, where we start viewing financial inclusion as both a business opportunity and an economic necessity.
With Pakistan’s informal economy estimated between $150 billion and $180 billion, it is our collective need to build an ecosystem where women entrepreneurs from southern Punjab, farmers from Layyah, tailors in Tharparkar and fruit vendors in Gilgit-Baltistan are not just surviving but thriving, where they have access to a full suite of digital financial services including access to credit, savings and security, just like a banker, an engineer or a university student living in a metropolitan would. Geography and access to traditional banks should not be the defining factor in who gets access to financial services in a world that is shifting towards digital banking.
A financially inclusive Pakistan is not a distant dream; however, whether it becomes a shared reality or a lost opportunity depends on the decisions we make today. Let’s not settle for distorted progress. Let’s commit to real inclusion -- one user, one transaction and one community at a time.
The writer serves as the president and CEO of easypaisa Digital Bank. He can be reached at:ceo@easypaisa.com.pk
