KARACHI, Sept 13: E-banking is flourishing in Pakistan as reflected by a 32 per cent growth witnessed in it last year, said a report prepared by the State Bank.

“Electronic banking (E-banking) is getting increasingly popular as the number and value of e-banking transactions in the country have shown a significant growth in the last fiscal year,” said the SBP report.

According to a report titled ‘Retail Payment Systems of Pakistan (paper-based and e-banking)’ of the State Bank of Pakistan, a total of Rs124.6 million e-banking transactions were recorded valuing Rs13.9 trillion during the last fiscal year (2008), showing a growth of 25.4pc in numbers and 32.3pc in amount when compared with the fiscal year 2007.

During FY08, the volume and value of e-banking channels (POS, Internet & call centre/IVR, and mobile) transactions in the country reached 20.0 million and Rs120.1 billion, depicting an increase of 15.6 per cent in numbers and 31.9 per cent in value as compared to 46.0 per cent in numbers and 63.8 per cent in value in the previous fiscal year.

According to the report, the quantity of active (in-use) debit / credit cards during FY08 reached 6.7 million, which shows an aggregate growth of 15.8 per cent, compared with a 53.7 per cent increase in the previous fiscal year.

The quantity of credit cards has in fact decreased by 8.9 per cent as compared to 74 per cent increase in the previous fiscal year, reaching 1.5 million.

In contrast, the debit cards registered a growth of 24.7 per cent as compared to 45.3pc increase in previous fiscal year and stood at 5.0 million.

The report pointed out that the total number of ATMs during FY08 stood at 3,121, registering a growth of 21.0 per cent as compared to 17.0 per cent increase in the previous fiscal year.

The volume of Real Time Online Branches (RTOB) during FY08 stood at 5,282 and recorded a growth of 26.4 per cent as compared to 5.0 per cent decline in the previous fiscal year.

The volume of Point of Sales (POS) stood at 55,853, showing a growth of 21.0 per cent in number as compared to 4.0 per cent increase in the previous fiscal year.

According to the report, during FY 08 the volume and value of ATM transactions in the country reached 67.9 million and Rs453.0 billion, showing an increase of 31.8 per cent in numbers and 43.2 per cent in value as compared to 47.1 per cent increase in numbers and 49.9 per cent in value in the previous fiscal year.

Moreover, the volume and value of RTOB transactions in FY08 reached 36.9 million and Rs13.3 trillion, showing an increase of 19.9 per cent in numbers and 32 per cent in value as compared to 46.2 per cent increase in numbers and 49.0 per cent in value in the previous fiscal year.

The report said that the volume and value of paper-based transactions in the country during FY08 reached 334.4 million and Rs.137.4 trillion, registering an increase of 3.1 per cent in numbers and 20.9 per cent in value as compared to 48.1 per cent increase in numbers and 29.4 per cent in value in the previous fiscal year.

According to the report, the overall total retail payments in the country during FY08 stood at 459.0 million and Rs.151.3 trillion respectively registering an increase of 28.4 per cent in number and 21.8 per cent in value as compared to 17.2 per cent increase in numbers and 35.0 per cent in value in FY07.

Retail payments are mainly made by consumers and between commercial counterparties to purchase goods and services.

At the retail level, most transactions use paper-based instruments. However, electronic mode is also getting momentum with the passage of time. Retail payments in Pakistan comprise various paper-based and electronic instruments from conventional cheques to modern smart cards.