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Most bank accounts in Pakistan have relatively modest balances, with new central bank figures showing that over 70% of accounts hold deposits of less than Rs50,000.
According to the State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) latest Quarterly Payment Systems Review for the third quarter of FY25, a substantial majority of bank accounts in Pakistan reflect low deposit levels. The data reveals that more than 70% of accounts contain balances under Rs50,000, highlighting a significant concentration of smaller savings across the country’s banking sector.
Meanwhile, 26% of bank accounts in Pakistan maintain balances between Rs50,000 and Rs1 million. Only a small fraction—just 3%—hold more than Rs1 million, underscoring the limited spread of substantial deposits and illustrating a pronounced gap in account sizes.
The SBP report also shed light on the accelerating shift toward digital transactions. Digital payment channels processed 89% of all retail transactions by volume, with mobile app-based banking leading this transformation. During the quarter, retail payment volumes climbed by 12%, reaching 2,408 million transactions valued at Rs164 trillion.
Pakistan’s instant payment system Raast continued its rapid expansion, processing 371 million transactions worth Rs8.5 trillion during the period. Since its inception, Raast has facilitated a cumulative 1.5 billion transactions amounting to over Rs34 trillion, demonstrating growing reliance on secure and fast digital payments.
Large-value payments also remained robust. The SBP highlighted that the Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) system handled 1.5 million transactions totaling Rs347 trillion in the same quarter, playing a critical role in the country’s financial infrastructure.
Overall, the latest SBP data on bank accounts in Pakistan underscores both the widespread prevalence of low-balance accounts and the rising adoption of digital payment channels, painting a complex picture of financial inclusion and evolving consumer behavior.
