Pakistan’s digital revolution

LAHORE: Pakistan’s financial sector was relatively well-regulated compared to its South Asian neighbours back in 2011, still, access to formal financial services was among the lowest in the region. In the past 14 years, digital advancements have brought mass financial inclusion within reach, though challenges remain.

In 2015, just 16 per cent of Pakistani adults had a bank account. By 2023, this figure surged to 64 per cent thanks to the implementation of two consecutive National Financial Inclusion Strategies (2015-18 and 2019-23) by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).

The SBP’s third strategy (2024-28) now targets to further raise this to 75 per cent and reduce the gender gap to 25 per cent by 2028. Bank depositors rose from 54 million in 2018 to 88 million in 2023 -- a growth of 63 percent. Significantly, adult women account holders ballooned from 13 million in 2018 to 31 million in 2023, narrowing the gender gap from 47 per cent to 34 per cent

According to Karandaaz Pakistan’s 2024 Financial Inclusion Survey (K-FIS), access to digital financial services (DFS) -- including bank accounts, mobile wallets and NBFCs -- leaped from 7.0 per cent in 2014 to 35 per cent in 2024. Notably, mobile money usage alone now is over 30 per cent of adults, up from less than 1.0 per cent.

Despite broad gains, women trail significantly: only 14 per cent of women have full-service financial accounts versus 56 per cent of men. Mobile ownership also lags being 46 percent among women compared to 82 per cent among men in 2024

Launched in 2021, Raast is Pakistan’s instant payment system facilitating real-time peer-to-peer and person-to-merchant transfers. By early FY25, Raast handled trillions of rupees in transactions E-banking is booming with over 40 million internet and mobile banking users now operate nationwide.

In January 2025, easypaisa received the first-ever digital retail banking license from the SBP, formalising digital wallets into full-fledged digital banks capable of lending and deposit services In March 2025, the World Bank approved $102 million for the ‘Resilient and Accessible Microfinance (RAM)’ project to strengthen microfinance outreach -- particularly for women, youth, and rural communities facing climate shocks. A sweeping 10-year, $20 billion Country Partnership Framework was unveiled in 2025, with access to finance, digital infrastructure and inclusive growth as prime priorities

Under the 2025 Digital Nation Pakistan Act, a new body -- the Pakistan Digital Authority (PDA) -- was established to lead the nation’s digital transformation across sectors, including finance. While Pakistan has made monumental progress -- from just 229 bank accounts per 1,000 adults in 2010 to over 60 percent of adults now formally banked -- there remain critical hurdles like gender gaps in access and digital literacy. Many users have accounts, but cash remains dominant and informal credit still rules as bulk of financing for individuals still comes from informal sources.

Yet with digital infrastructure like Raast, licensing for digital banks, microfinance initiatives, and a new national digital regulator, the groundwork is in place for broader, equitable financial inclusion.

The World Bank’s Global Findex data shows that 21 per cent Pakistani adults had a formal account in 2021 compared with 77.5 per cent in India, 55.2 per cent in Bangladesh, and 89.3 per cent in Sri Lanka.

Mobile banking is key to financial outreach. In India 77.5 per cent of the population use mobile banking. It is 52.8 per cent in Bangladesh, 54 per cent in Nepal and just 20.98 per cent in Pakistan.