Payment systems show significant growth in fiscal year 2016: SBP

Payment systems in Pakistan have shown significant growth in key performance indicators during last fiscal year (FY16). According to State Bank of Pakistan''s Payment System Review for FY16, it is encouraging to witness a consistent upward trend in volume and value of payments through digital/electronic channels which compliment the SBP vision to promote digital payments in the country. The volume and value of Large Value Transactions through RTGS reached 930,501 and Rs 231.7 trillion, respectively during FY16 showing an increase of 21 percent and 29 percent in volume and value respectively from the FY15.
Though the volume of paper based transactions have decreased by 6 percent during the year, they still constitute approximately 38 percent of volume of total retail payments. On the other hand, the use of e-Banking channels has shown bullish trend as evident from increase of e-Banking transactions by 16 percent in volume and 4 percent in value. Likewise, Real-time Online Banking transactions also rose 135.4 million by volume and Rs 32.3 trillion by value showing an increase of 19 percent in volume and 2 percent in value of e-banking transactions during the period under review.
The use of Alternate Delivery Channels (ADCs) such as ATMs, POS terminals, Internet and Mobile Banking also showed rising trend as of June 16 as 39.2 million transactions valuing approximately Rs 200 billion were carried out at POS terminals as compared to 32.1 million transactions valuing Rs 172 billion which showed a surge of 22 percent in volume and 16 percent in value as compared to the previous year.
Likewise, Internet and Mobile banking also showed steady growth. The Internet Banking rose to 18 percent in volume & 10 percent in value whereas Mobile Banking showed an increase of 8 percent in volume and 5 percent in value during the period under review.
Payment system infrastructure also showed phenomenal growth during the period under review. The number of branches increased from 11,937 to 13,179 whereas total number of ATMs installed in the country increased from 9,597 to 11,381 during the year. On the other hand, 9,586 POS terminals were added to the network totalling 50,769 POS terminals as on June 30, 2016.
Going forward, SBP is working on two pronged strategy for effectively enabling the adoption of electronic/digital payments by the general public in Pakistan. Firstly, the expansion of infrastructure at three different levels: instruments (like cards and wallets), access points (like ATMs, POSs, and mobile devices) and central payment processers (like switches and gateways). Secondly, the strengthening of regulatory and oversight frameworks for ensuring the safety and soundness of these payment infrastructures which, in turn, will enhance the trust and confidence of ordinary consumers on these alternate payment methods.