Cash preference stays stubbornly high as Pakistan's currency in circulation hits record PKR11.93 trillion
Currency in circulation increased by more than PKR1 trillion in Q3 FY26 as mobile banking
Haris Zamir
Business Editor
Experience of almost 33 years where started the journey of financial journalism from Business Recorder in 1992. From 2006 onwards attached with Television Media worked at Sun Tv, Dawn Tv, Geo Tv and Dunya Tv. During the period also worked as a stringer for Bloomberg for seven years and Dow Jones for five years. Also wrote articles for several highly acclaimed periodicals like the Newsline, Pakistan Gulf Economist and Money Matters (The News publications)
Cash in circulation hits record PKR 11.93 trillion despite digital payment growth
Pakistan’s currency in circulation rose by more than PKR1 trillion during the third quarter of fiscal year 2025-26, reaching a record PKR11.93 trillion by the end of March 2026 despite rapid growth in digital payments, according to the latest Quarterly Payment Systems Review released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).
The report showed that cash in circulation increased by PKR1.056 trillion during the January-March quarter, climbing from PKR10.87 trillion at the end of December 2025 to PKR11.93 trillion as of March 31, 2026. The increase underscores Pakistan’s continued reliance on physical cash even as digital financial services expand across the country.
Digital payments continue to expand
The SBP report showed steady growth in Pakistan’s digital payments ecosystem during the quarter. The number of scheduled banks, microfinance banks and digital banks increased from 43 to 44, while the number of payment system operators, payment service providers, electronic money institutions (EMIs) and branchless banking service providers remained unchanged.
The country’s banking network also expanded, with bank and microfinance bank branches increasing to 20,232 from 20,143 three months earlier. Branchless banking agents rose to 819,397 from 808,871, extending financial services to more people nationwide.
Pakistan’s ATM network grew to 21,377 machines from 20,976, while the number of cash deposit machines increased to 1,752 from 1,638.
Merchant acceptance infrastructure also strengthened as businesses increasingly adopted electronic payments. The number of point-of-sale (PoS) terminals rose by more than 15,500 to 247,836, while PoS-enabled merchants increased to 217,042 from 189,919.
QR payments and mobile banking gain momentum
The report highlighted strong growth in QR code-based payments, with QR-enabled merchants surging to 2.51 million from 1.94 million during the quarter, reflecting wider adoption of low-cost digital payment solutions among retailers.
Digital banking users also continued to grow. Branchless banking mobile app users increased to 95.8 million from 92.2 million, while mobile banking users rose to 28.9 million from 27.2 million.
Electronic money institution wallet users increased to 7.3 million from 6.8 million, internet banking users reached 16.2 million from 15.7 million, and users of call center and interactive voice response (IVR) banking services increased to 45.4 million from 44.9 million.
The number of payment cards in circulation also climbed to 68.3 million from 64.1 million, indicating broader access to electronic payment instruments.
Cash still dominates
Despite the rapid expansion of digital payment infrastructure and rising adoption of mobile and electronic banking services, the sharp increase in currency in circulation suggests cash remains deeply embedded in Pakistan’s economy.
The findings point to a dual-track financial landscape in which digital transactions are growing rapidly while consumers and businesses continue to rely heavily on physical currency, particularly for retail purchases and transactions in the informal economy, the SBP report said.
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