QR Payment Merchants Up 245% in Pakistan

QR-enabled merchants in Pakistan surged by 245% to reach 3.8 million in fiscal year 2025-26, up from 1.1 million the previous year, according to State Bank of Pakistan data. During FY26, these merchants processed 297 million transactions valued at Rs. 1.6 trillion, averaging 0.8 million daily QR transactions with a combined daily value of roughly Rs.

5.5 billion. The previous fiscal year saw QR-based transactions total over 86 million, with a combined value of Rs. 234 billion. The government's subsidy program under the Prime Minister's Cashless Pakistan Initiative played a pivotal role in this surge, providing a subsidy of up to Rs. 100 per transaction, with equal contributions from the merchant's and customer's financial institutions.

This subsidy, totaling Rs. 3.5 billion, was designed to encourage merchants and consumers to adopt digital payments over cash. Financial institutions were also permitted to charge up to 0.25 percent of the transaction value for merchant onboarding and servicing. This expansion in QR payments is anticipated to further accelerate the transition from cash-based transactions to digital payments at point-of-sale locations.