How Many Payment Cards Pakistan Has in 2026: 69.9 Million, With Credit Cards Up 47% to 3.26 Million
SBP counts 69.9 million payment cards in Pakistan for FY26: 58.9 million debit and 3.26 million credit. See how each type grew and how often it is used.
Short answer: Pakistan had 69.9 million payment cards at the end of FY26, SBP says. Debit cards are 58.9 million of them. Credit cards rose 47 percent to 3.26 million, which is still under 5 percent of all cards. A credit card was used about 37 times at shops last year, a debit card about 8 times.
Most Pakistanis who hold a card hold a debit card. It sits in a wallet and comes out mainly at the ATM. The State Bank of Pakistan's latest annual review shows how the card market changed in the year to June 2026, and which cards people actually use.
We read the State Bank's Annual Payment Systems Review for the 2025-26 financial year (FY26), including Table A-2 on card types, on 13 October 2026. FY26 runs from July 2025 to June 2026. SBP marks the FY26 numbers as provisional. The percentages below are our own working from SBP's counts.
Pakistan has 69.9 million cards, up 17 percent
The total number of payment cards issued by banks, microfinance banks, e-money institutions and branchless banking providers reached 69,934,335 in FY26. A year earlier it was 59,713,906, so the count grew by about 17 percent.
Many people hold several cards and many hold none, so this count says little about how many people are covered.
Credit cards grew fastest among the big groups
Credit cards went from 2,215,081 to 3,260,658, a rise of 47 percent. Debit cards went from 53,490,756 to 58,930,850, a rise of 10 percent. Debit cards are still 84 percent of all cards.
Prepaid cards are tiny in number but jumped from 93,476 to 224,453. Social welfare cards, which are issued to receive government support payments, nearly doubled from 3,914,593 to 7,518,374. SBP does not explain this rise in the review's table, so we do not guess at the cause.
| Card type | FY25 | FY26 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debit cards | 53,490,756 | 58,930,850 | Up 10% |
| Social welfare cards | 3,914,593 | 7,518,374 | Up 92% |
| Credit cards | 2,215,081 | 3,260,658 | Up 47% |
| Prepaid cards | 93,476 | 224,453 | Up 140% |
| All cards | 59,713,906 | 69,934,335 | Up 17% |
Credit cards are used far more at shops
SBP reports that cardholders made 569 million card payments at shop terminals and 122 million online in FY26. Spread over the cards, that is about 8 shop payments per debit or prepaid card and 37 per credit card. Online, it is about 2 payments per debit or prepaid card and 8 per credit card.
Cards are still mainly a cash tool. More than 1,056 million ATM transactions were made in the year, worth Rs 18.4 trillion, and SBP says these include domestic and international use. The count of machines is in the report on ATMs and cash deposit machines in FY26.
If you want a credit card, compare fees first with the page on credit card fees compared. A card you already have can often get a higher limit, as described in how to raise a credit card limit.
More shops now take cards and QR codes
SBP says the number of card terminals at shops rose 49 percent, from 227,388 to 337,791, much of it from soft POS, which turns a smartphone into a card reader. Shops that accept cards rose from 190,823 to 295,367. Pakistan now sees nearly 1.5 million card payments a day, up from about 1.0 million.
QR enabled merchants grew by more than three times, from 1.1 million to 3.8 million. This shows where small shops are going. The steps to set one up are in the page on accepting Raast QR payments in your shop.
Check and secure your cards in five steps
With so many cards, small habits matter. These steps are common good practice, not SBP rules from the review.
- List every card you hold and cancel the ones you do not use.
- Turn off online and international use on a debit card you only use at the ATM, as shown in turning off international payments.
- Switch on SMS or app alerts for every spend.
- Read each statement and spot any charge you did not make.
- If a charge is wrong, follow the steps for a credit card dispute.
Common questions
How many payment cards are there in Pakistan?
69,934,335 at the end of FY26, SBP says. That is up from 59.7 million a year earlier. The figure is provisional.
How many credit cards are there?
3,260,658, up 47 percent from 2,215,081. They are about 4.7 percent of all cards.
How many debit cards are there?
58,930,850, which is 84 percent of all cards. SBP's table lists debit cards separately from prepaid and social welfare cards.
Do people use credit cards more than debit cards?
At shops, yes per card. A credit card was used about 37 times at shops in the year and a debit card about 8 times, according to SBP's review.
How many card terminals are in shops?
337,791 terminals, up 49 percent, in 295,367 shops. This includes soft POS on phones.
Does one card equal one person?
No. SBP counts cards, not people. Some people hold several cards and many hold none.
How we verified this
What we checked, where we read it, and what we could not confirm.
Last checked on 13 October 2026, Pakistan time. We read SBP's Annual Payment Systems Review FY26, Table A-2 and the sections on infrastructure and retail payments, and SBP's press release of 6 October 2026. The percentage changes and shares are our own working. FY26 figures are provisional. SBP does not explain in the review why social welfare and prepaid cards jumped, and we did not verify a cause.
About the author
Public Services and Education Journalist
Fajr Riaz is a journalist and content writer at Pakistan Era, based in Lahore. She covers the questions people meet in everyday life in Pakistan: how a public service works, what a change in the rules means, and where to find a reliable answer.
