With digital wallets booming and fintechs mushrooming, Pakistan’s financial sector is at a crossroads. Banks now have a unique shot to transform access, build trust, and shape the nation’s role in the global digital economy.
The numbers look exciting. The momentum feels unstoppable. But the digital finance revolution in Pakistan still has major blind spots — and banks might be the only ones equipped to close them.
The Growth Is Real, But So Are the Gaps
It’s easy to get caught up in the energy. Pakistan’s youthful population — with a median age of just 20.6 — is going mobile-first, app-ready, and financially curious. The fintech market is buzzing, and FY24 saw digital retail transactions grow 35%, with e-wallet usage up a whopping 85%.
But scratch beneath the surface, and another picture emerges.
Despite 211 million registered bank accounts by mid-2024, fewer than 20 million are active in digital banking. Most people still deal in cash. Many don’t trust banks. And even more don’t see the point — especially in rural areas where a smartphone might be more common than a formal job contract.
Why Traditional Banking Just Doesn’t Cut It Anymore
Let’s be blunt. The old banking model isn’t made for today’s Pakistan.
Branch networks, paper-heavy processes, and product lines that assume steady salaried incomes — that’s all yesterday’s playbook. What people need now is simplicity, speed, and a sense that their money actually works for them.
A farmer in Punjab doesn’t want to fill three forms to open an account. A gig worker in Karachi doesn’t have time for 9-to-5 banking hours. And a tech grad in Islamabad expects the same slick user experience from their bank that they get from Spotify or WhatsApp.
Banks as Platforms, Not Just Providers
Here’s the thing. Banks have more power than they realize.
They have trust (or the ability to earn it), infrastructure, regulatory clarity, and financial muscle. They can reach people fintechs can’t. They can offer stability that new players can’t guarantee. But only if they shift their mindset.
Think platforms, not products. Think inclusion, not segmentation. Think digital-first, not digital-later.
Let’s break it down:
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Offer intuitive, mobile-native apps that don’t require banking knowledge.
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Build products around needs, not just income brackets.
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Provide credit scoring alternatives for informal workers and freelancers.
And one more thing — don’t just copy fintechs. Learn from them, yes. But do what only a bank can do: offer long-term security with a tech-savvy face.
What Fintechs Are Doing Right — and Why Banks Should Pay Attention
Some fintechs are already playing this game better.
Take NayaPay or SadaPay, for instance. They’re making onboarding effortless, transactions instant, and user interfaces friendlier than a pizza delivery app. They’ve figured out that finance needs to feel less like banking and more like everyday life.
Even telcos are getting in on it. Easypaisa and JazzCash are in millions of pockets, turning phones into ATMs and payment terminals in places banks have never reached.
Here’s where banks can plug in. Collaborate. Partner. Co-create.
It’s already happening.
Mashreq, a bank with regional roots but a global presence, is rebranding itself as a “bank-tech” — not just a lender but a tech company with a banking license. And it’s not alone. Globally, banks are reorganizing around agile teams, embedding tech into credit, payments, and remittances in ways that feel seamless to users.
The Talent’s Here — and It’s Being Underused
At the Digital Foreign Direct Investment Forum in Islamabad, one thing stood out: the talent pool is massive.
There are developers, designers, analysts, and engineers ready to build the future. But most of them aren’t working in banks. They’re in startups. Or freelancing. Or waiting for better offers abroad.
This is a missed opportunity.
Banks need to look less like offices and more like labs. Think fewer cubicles, more code. Less hierarchy, more hackathons. If banks want to stay relevant, they have to become places where talent wants to go.
Just imagine what a bank-led incubator or fintech co-working space could do in Lahore or Peshawar.
One sentence here.
Can Pakistan Really Go Global Without Financial Inclusion?
Let’s talk ambition.
Pakistan wants to grow digital exports, attract investors, and build its name as a tech hub. But no matter how many apps you export, if your own population isn’t financially empowered, you’re playing catch-up.
Here’s where banks can really lead:
| Key Area | Current Gap | What Banks Can Do |
|---|---|---|
| Credit Access | Informal workers ignored | Alternative scoring models |
| Investment Tools | Urban-centric offerings | Local language, low-cap tools |
| Financial Literacy | Limited programs | App-based learning modules |
| Gender Inclusion | Fewer accounts for women | Women-led banking teams |
Fixing these isn’t just good business. It’s national strategy.
What Needs to Happen Next — And Fast
There’s no magic wand. But there’s a roadmap — and it’s doable.
First, regulators must keep the pace. SBP has made progress with Raast, but now it needs to push banks toward open APIs and more aggressive fintech collaboration.
Second, banks need to ditch the fear of cannibalizing themselves. Digital is not the enemy of branches. It’s the evolution of what branches could be.
And third, Pakistan’s financial sector has to stop looking inward. This isn’t just about serving account holders. It’s about building a system that makes everyone — investors, diaspora, and citizens — feel they’re part of something that actually works.
