Askari Bank wins four prestigious Pakistan Digital Awards 2026

KARACHI: Askari Bank Limited has emerged as one of the most distinguished institutions at the Pakistan Digital Awards 2026, securing four prestigious awards across highly competitive categories.

The achievement underscores the Bank’s accelerating digital transformation journey and its ability to deliver industry-leading, scalable digital solutions.

Askari Bank was recognised in the following categories:

Best Lifestyle Mobile Application - Smart Society App.

Best Smart City Project - Smart Society App.

Best Cyber Security Innovation - In-App Calling.

Best Payment Solution Provider - Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS).

Competing against leading organisations from Pakistan’s financial services and telecommunications sectors, these awards reflect Askari Bank’s commitment to customer-centric innovation, robust execution, and technological excellence across diverse digital verticals.

The Best Lifestyle Mobile Application award recognises the Bank’s bold expansion beyond conventional banking through the Smart Society App - a first-of-its-kind initiative in Pakistan’s financial sector. Designed to simplify everyday living, the platform delivers a connected, convenient, and digitally enabled community experience for residents, merchants, and society administrators. This initiative represents more than digital banking; it introduces a new “Beyond Banking” category, setting a benchmark for the industry.

The Best Smart City Project award further acknowledges the Smart Society initiative as Pakistan’s first cashless housing society ecosystem, launched in DHA Islamabad. By embedding payments into lifestyle and commerce, the platform transforms fragmented, offline community interactions into a unified digital experience. Strong early adoption, rapid merchant digitisation, and rising transaction volumes position it as a scalable model for digital urban living nationwide.

Recognition for In-App Calling under the Best Cyber Security Innovation category marks an industry-first approach to securing real-time communication within a banking application, significantly enhancing data protection and reinforcing customer trust.

Meanwhile, the Best Payment Solution Provider award for Askari Bank’s Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) capabilities highlights the Bank’s growing role as a foundational infrastructure provider within Pakistan’s evolving fintech ecosystem - enabling digital platforms to operate with the reliability, compliance, and strength of a full-service bank.

Commenting on the achievement, Ali Naqvi, Chief Digital Officer, Askari Bank, said: “These awards reflect the dedication of our teams and our strategic focus on building digital solutions that truly matter - to our customers, our partners, and Pakistan’s broader digital economy. We are not merely keeping pace with change; we are shaping it.”

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026