ISLAMABAD: E-banking transactions grew by 12 percent in volume and 16 percent in value in the first quarter of Fiscal Year 2021-22, the Pakistani central bank said on Monday, as the country’s payment ecosystem continued to grow at a fast pace.
These transactions were conducted via electronic channels, including real-time online branches, ATMs, mobile banking, Internet banking, call center banking, Point of Sale (PoS) and e-commerce.
Two major areas where high adoption in digital payments was witnessed were mobile and Internet banking, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said in its first quarterly report of payment systems, covering the period July 2021 till September 2021.
“The number of mobile banking users grew by 4 percent on quarter over quarter (QoQ) basis, reaching a total of 11.3 million. The number of transactions conducted via mobile banking channels was 79.1 million with a value of around PKR 2.2 trillion, showing a QoQ growth of 29 percent by volume and 36 percent by value,” the SBP report read.
“Internet banking also contributed to the upswing in usage of e-Banking services by registering 31 percent QoQ growth in Internet banking users who conducted 30 million transactions amounting to PKR 1.9 trillion. This amounts to 6 percent progress in terms of volume and 10 percent increase in the value of these transactions on QoQ basis.”
The retail banking sector continued to show adoption of digital payments, while overall e-commerce transactions recorded an impressive QoQ growth of 87 percent by volume and 21 percent by value, though the number of e-commerce merchants remained almost the same as of the last quarter, according to the report.
During the quarter, 12.7 million e-commerce-related transactions amounting to Rs22.3 billion were conducted using digital payment channels. Similarly, the number of merchant POS machines increased by 10 percent QoQ, reaching to 79,134 in the country. These machines processed 28.1 million card-based transactions at merchant locations, amounting to almost Rs134.9 billion, which showed QoQ increase of 16.1 percent by volume and 10.6 percent by value.
As of end-September 2021, the report said, there were 46.2 million total cards in circulation, which mainly comprised debit cards (64 percent), social welfare cards (22 percent), ATM-only cards (10 percent), credit cards (4 percent) and prepaid cards (0.3 percent).
Paper-based transactions recorded an increase of 5 percent in volume and 3 percent in value, which may be attributed to people returning to bank branches as pandemic-related restrictions were eased.
In large-value or wholesale payment segment, transactions processed through the Pakistan Real-Time Interbank Settlement Mechanism (PRISM) recorded a total of 1.1 million transactions amounting to Rs159.1 trillion, which was 7 percent higher than the preceding quarter.
Pakistan e-banking transactions grew by 12 percent in first quarter of FY2022 — central bank
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Pakistan e-banking transactions grew by 12 percent in first quarter of FY2022 — central bank
- Number of mobile banking users grew by 4 percent, e-banking usage rose by 31 percent
- Overall e-commerce transactions recorded an impressive QoQ growth of 87 percent by volume
Pakistan’s February inflation drops to more than nine-year low at 1.5 percent
- This is down from a multi-decade high of around 40 percent in May 2023
- Consumer price index stood at 2.4 percent in Jan. and 23.1 percent in Feb. 2024
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s monthly inflation dropped to 1.5 percent in February on a year-on-year basis, the country’s statistics bureau said on Monday, which was the lowest in more than nine years.
The consumer price index (CPI) inflation stood at 2.4 percent in the month of January and 23.1 percent in Feb. 2024, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).
On a month-on-month basis, it decreased by 0.8 percent in February as compared to an increase of 0.2 percent in the previous month and no change in February 2024. This was down from a multi-decade high of around 40 percent in May 2023.
“The lowest inflation last time was nine years and five months ago in September 2015, when it reached 1.3 percent,” Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said at a press conference on Monday, hailing a decline in policy rate to 12 percent.
The commodities whose prices increased from corresponding month of the previous year included pulses, potatoes, fresh fruits, butter, honey, milk powder, meat, vegetable, ghee, fish, milk products, cooking oil and sugar, according to the PBS.
The items whose prices decreased in Feb. included onions, tomatoes, wheat flour, tea, eggs, rice, bakery and confectionary items, and chicken.
Pakistan Stock Exchange sheds 1,200 points amid uncertainty over IMF loan talks
- The benchmark KSE-100 index closed at 111,986.88 and went down by 1.12 percent from the previous day’s close
- Analyst says foreign outflows, weak rupee, lower global crude prices played a catalyst role in bearish close
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) saw a significant decline of 1,200 points on Monday, currency traders and analysts said, attributing the slump to uncertainty over the outcome of Islamabad’s talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a $1 billion tranche.
The benchmark KSE-100 index dropped by 1,264.78 points, or 1.12 percent, to 111,986.88 points, compared to Friday’s close of 113,251.66.
The development came as an IMF team arrived in Pakistan for the first review of a $7 billion loan program Islamabad secured in September.
“Foreign outflows, weak rupee, lower global crude oil prices and uncertainty over outcome of Pakistan-IMF talks this week played a catalyst role in the bearish close,” Ahsan Mehanti, CEO of Arif Habib Commodities, told Arab News.
Pakistan’s ARY News channel reported that the IMF was demanding action against tax evasion in Pakistan’s real estate sector.
“The IMF pushed for action against those misdeclaring property values,” ARY News reported, saying the government had assured the global lender it would activate the Real Estate Regulatory Authority.
Naveed Nadeem, a senior equity trader at Topline Securities Limited, said the negative sentiment at the market was driven by the lack of a positive trigger, Engro earnings falling short of expectations and shorter trading hours.
“Key stocks contributing to the downturn included ENGROH, UBL, MCB, MTL, and PPL, which together accounted for a drop of 731 points in the index,” he said.
“Despite the downturn, overall market activity saw 207 million shares traded, with a total turnover of Rs 11.8 billion.”
Woman suicide bomber kills troop, injures four others in Balochistan attack
- No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but suspicion is likely to fall on the Baloch Liberation Army separatist group
- The BLA has previously used woman fighters to carry out suicide attacks against Pakistani security forces and Chinese nationals in Pakistan
QUETTA: A paramilitary troop was killed and four others injured after a woman suicide bomber hit a convoy of the Frontier Corps (FC) paramilitary force in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province, a local administration official said on Monday.
The attack took place in Balochistan’s Kalat district on Monday afternoon, when the FC convoy was en route to security forces’ mess from the FC Fort on N-25 Quetta-Karachi highway, according to Kalat Deputy Commissioner Bilal Shabbir.
“A female suicide bomber struck the security forces convoy killing one soldier of the paramilitary Frontier Corps on the spot and injuring four others who were shifted to hospital,” DC Shabbir told Arab News.
“The female suicide bomber was standing outside the FC fort located at the highway and detonated herself when they were moving from the fort to the security forces’ mess in Kalat.”
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but suspicion is likely to fall on the outlawed Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), which has previously used woman fighters in its ranks to carry out suicide attacks against Pakistani security forces and Chinese nationals over the last few years.
In 2022, Shari Baloch, a woman suicide bomber linked to the BLA, carried out a suicide attack that ripped through a passenger van, killing three Chinese nationals and a Pakistani in the southern port city of Karachi, according to Pakistani authorities.
In Nov. last year, Pakistani officials arrested a woman among three suspects involved in a deadly suicide bombing, also claimed by the BLA, that killed two Chinese nationals and a Pakistani man outside the Karachi airport on Oct. 6, 2024.
The BLA is one of the most prominent separatist groups, which mainly operates in Balochistan but has targeted Chinese nationals in the neighboring Sindh province as well.
Balochistan has for years been the scene of an insurgency, where separatist groups have frequently attacked police and security forces as well as civilians and foreigners they see as “outsiders” in the resource-rich region, where China has been building a deep-sea port in Gwadar on the Arabian Sea and has made huge investments under its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
The separatists accuse Islamabad of exploiting the province’s natural resources. Successive Pakistani governments deny the allegations and say they have prioritized Balochistan’s development through investments in health, education and infrastructure projects.
US actions may set polio eradication back in Pakistan and Afghanistan, WHO says
- WHO works with groups such as UNICEF and Gates Foundation to end polio
- The planned withdrawal of the United States from WHO has impacted efforts
LONDON: The eradication of polio as a global health threat may be delayed unless US funding cuts – potentially totaling hundreds of millions of dollars over several years – are reversed, a senior World Health Organization official has warned.
The WHO works with groups such as UNICEF and the Gates Foundation to end polio. The planned withdrawal of the United States from WHO has impacted efforts, including stopping collaboration with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Last week, UNICEF’s polio grant was terminated as the State Department cut 90 percent of USAID’s grants worldwide to align aid with President Donald Trump’s ‘America First’ policy.
In total, the partnership is missing $133 million from the US that was expected this year, said Hamid Jafari, director of the polio eradication program for the WHO’s Eastern Mediterranean region. The area includes two countries where a wild form of polio is spreading: Afghanistan and Pakistan.
“If the funding shortfall continues, it may potentially delay eradication, it may lead to more children getting paralyzed,” he said, adding that the longer it took to end polio, the more expensive it would be.
He said the partners were working out ways to cope with the funding shortage, which will largely impact personnel and surveillance, but hoped the US would return to funding the fight against polio.
“We are looking at other funding sources ... to sustain both the priority staff and priority activities,” he said.
He said vaccination campaigns in both Afghanistan and Pakistan would be protected.
UNICEF did not respond to requests for comment, and a spokesperson for the Gates Foundation reiterated that no foundation could fill the gap left by the US Saudi Arabia gave $500 million to polio eradication last week.
The partnership already faces a $2.4 billion shortfall to 2029, as it accepted last year that it would take longer, and cost more, to eradicate the disease than hoped.
Saudi Arabia launches Ramadan iftar, dates distribution program in Pakistan
- The program aims to support tens of thousands of deserving Pakistani people throughout the holy fasting month of Ramadan
- Fasting during Ramadan is one of five pillars of Islam, wherein Muslims abstain from food and drink from sunrise till sunset
ISLAMABAD: Saudi Arabia has launched the King Salman bin Abdulaziz Iftar and Dates Distribution Program in Pakistan for the month of Ramadan, the Pakistani religious affairs ministry said on Monday, with the program aiming to support tens of thousands of deserving people.
Fasting during Ramadan is one of the five pillars of Islam, wherein Muslims abstain from food and drink from sunrise till sunset for a month. The Islamic lunar month will begin in March.
This is followed by the sighting of the new moon and is marked by Eid Al-Fitr, a religious holiday and celebration that is observed by Muslims across the world.
The iftar and date distribution program was inaugurated by the Pakistan’s Religious Affairs Minister Chaudhry Salik Hussain and Saudi Ambassador Nawaf bin Saeed Al-Malki.
“The aim of this program is to care for poor and needy families, widows, and orphans, to provide them with opportunities for joy and happiness, to meet their needs, and to effectively assist in alleviating the hardships of impoverished and extremely needy families by providing essential food items,” the Saudi ambassador was quoted as saying by the Pakistani ministry.
“Under this program, which symbolizes friendship and brotherhood from the Saudi government and people, 20 tons of dates will be distributed to 40,000 deserving individuals, while 30,000 individuals will benefit from the Iftar program.”
The program for fasting individuals and the distribution of dates is part of the initiatives directed by King Salman for implementation in Pakistan and several other countries, according to the Saudi ambassador. It will be held throughout the month of Ramadan in all provinces of Pakistan.
On the occasion, Religious Affairs Minister Hussain thanked the Kingdom for its continuous assistance to those in need in Pakistan.
“These gifts symbolize the bond of brotherhood and goodwill between the people of Saudi Arabia, its government, its wise leadership, and the people of Pakistan,” he said.
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia enjoy strong trade, defense and brotherly relations. The Kingdom is home to over 2.7 million Pakistani expatriates, serving as the top destination for remittances for the cash-strapped South Asian country.
Last week, Saudi Arabia gifted Pakistan 100 tons of dates ahead of the holy month of Ramadan. The consignment was handed over by Saudi Arabia’s Ambassador Nawaf bin Said Al-Maliki along with Abdullah Al-Baqami, director of the King Salman Humanitarian Aid & Relief Center (KSrelief) at a ceremony held at the Saudi embassy in Islamabad.
